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MMA world is not exactly proud of Ben Askren after KO by Jake Paul

Jack Baer
Staff writer
·4 min read
34

The Jake Paul-Ben Askren fight arrived on Saturday, and it was everything the MMA world feared it would be.

In a battle between a YouTube star and a professional mixed martial artist, it was the YouTube star who emerged victorious. In the first round, via KO.

Granted, Askren was always more of a grappler than striker and the ref's decision to call the fight was controversial to some, but it was still not what many were hoping to see when they paid all that money to Triller Fight Club.

Askren at least apologized for his performance:

Askren didn't exactly have much cachet entering the fight — most people know him as the guy on the receiving end of the fastest KO in UFC history — but the MMA world was clearly hoping he could defend the sport's honor. He did not.

In the aftermath, MMA fighters were basically split into three groups: fighters who were ashamed of Askren, fighters who believed money was exchanged under the table and fighters who wished they could take Askren's place.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 17: Jake Paul and Ben Askren face off in their cruiserweight bout during Triller Fight Club at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on April 17, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for Triller)
Not one of Ben Askren's finer moments. Definitely his most lucrative one, though. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for Triller)

Warning: There is plenty of profanity in the following tweets.

Here's the group that wasn't happy with Askren:

Here are the ones speculating that Paul or the people boxing him either paid Askren to take a dive or the referee to call the fight when Askren was seemingly ready to keep boxing:

And here are the people who hope they too can step into the ring with Paul and receive a massive payday:

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