His endurance is phenomenal - Jorge Masvidal open to wrestling match with Ben Askren
Jorge Masvidal recently expressed interest in a conventional wrestling match against former UFC foe Ben Askren. 'Gamebred' revealed that he would like to take on the former two–time NCAA Division I national champion if some money was put into the equation.
While Masvidal acknowledged Askren's wrestling prowess, he also claimed to be ten times the athlete 'Funky' will ever be. However, he lauded Askren's technical soundness and believes that the former Bellator champion has "unlimited endurance." The 37-year-old recently said on the IMPAULSIVE podcast:
"I would actually love to wrestle f***ing with Ben in a competition, you know. Like straight wrestling, I would do... I would grapple him for some monetary batteries... I would slam him on his neck too. He's a better wrestler than me undisputedly but I am ten times the athlete that guy will ever be. Like speed power all that shit... With the fast switch muscles, with the reflexes, he's not that guy now. When it comes to scrambling, positioning and endurance, he's f***ing phenomenal. As much as I can't stand his ass, he didn't win those two national championships for nothing. He can scramble and has in some departments has unlimited endurance."
Watch Jorge Masvidal's appearance on IMPAULSIVE below:
Jorge Masvidal and Ben Askren squared off back in 2019, when the former was amid a career resurgence and the latter was still undefeated. 'Gamebred' produced one of the greatest moments in MMA history on the night, handing Askren the first loss of his career in devastating fashion.
: @espnmma)On this date in 2019...
Jorge Masvidal KO’d Ben Askren in FIVE seconds. 💥
(🎥: @espnmma)
https://t.co/MrADTJ6mzq
Ben Askren slams Jorge Masvidal for flying knee KO tattoo
Ben Askren's decorated career will always be marred by him falling victim to the fastest KO in UFC history against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239. The vicious five-second flying knee knockout also marked an important moment in Masvidal's rise to stardom. 'Gamebred' even sported a tattoo of the KO going into his UFC 272 grudge match against Colby Covington.
Askren was certainly unimpressed and claimed the tattoo looked like an impulsive teenage decision. 'Funky' told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour:
“It’s terrible. Oh God, it just looks like crap. That’s something like a teenager gets and you’re like, ‘Oh s***, I thought that was going to look a lot better, I thought this was going to be really badass but it looks kind of dopey.’ He’s rich. He can go to the best tattoo artist in the place. I think it’s semi-telling how important that singular moment was to his career. He knows it and tattooed it on his body because it was that important to him.”
Watch Ben Askren's appearance on The MMA Hour below: