Ben Askren reacts to Jorge Masvidal teaming up with Jake Paul
Ben Askren has condemned UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal for siding with Jake Paul ahead of the upcoming Paul vs Askren boxing match. The former Bellator champion finds it inelegant for Jorge Masvidal to betray the MMA community and take sides with Paul.
Jorge Masvidal had a brief video chat with Jake Paul at the press conference for the April 17th Triller headliner event. 'Gamebred' reignited his UFC 239 feud with Askren and ridiculed 'Funky' for the iconic 5-second knockout. Masvidal also mocked Ben Askren's flip-flops that the former Bellator champion could be seen sporting at the press conference.
"That dude's still alive? Tell him I like his flip-flops man", said Jorge Masvidal.
Ben Askren took to Twitter and responded to Jorge Masvidal's 'cheesy' antics:
Earlier this year, Jake Paul reached out to Masvidal for a training session. The BMF obliged and showed the YouTuber-turned-boxer some moves that would help him out against Ben Askren. Jake Paul posted a video of his training session with Masvidal on Twitter and promised to break the Miami native's fastest KO record on April 17th.
'It's a low hanging fruit' - Ben Askren is not affected by Jake Paul collaborating with Jorge Masvidal
Jake Paul intentions were clear when he facetimed Jorge Masvidal at the presser - to aggravate Ben Askren. However, Askren seemed unfazed during the entire presser when Paul attempted to draw a reaction from him.
Speaking to MMA journalist Helen Yee, Ben Askren claimed to be unbothered by the UFC 239 loss to Jorge Masvidal. The former ONE Welterweight champion labeled Jake Paul's insinuations "a low-level joke".
"It's a low-level joke, right? And that's what I take out of Jake Paul. It's always the lowest hanging fruit. It's like, I had this thing with Jorge Masvidal. It happened, it's over and no it doesn't bother me. It's what happened."
Ben Askren and Jorge Masvidal had a heated back-and-forth leading up to their match at UFC 239. The former NCAA division 1 wrestler took it to the Miami native on social media and press conferences. Masvidal was deeply offended by Askren's digs. So much so that the Miami native promised to throw down with 'Funky' on sight, even after handing 'Funky' his first MMA loss.