‘He Was Training Very Hard’- Georges St-Pierre Says He Was Not Surprised by Jake Paul Knocking Out Ben Askren

Published 06/29/2021, 10:39 AM EDT

Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion, Georges St-Pierre sat down for an interview with his coach Firas Zahabi recently. Zahabi and ‘Rush’ discussed the boxing match between Jake Paul and Ben Askren that happened a while ago. ‘The Problem Child’ earned a first-round knockout finish in his favor.

Askren was the first real fighter that Paul fought. Many predicted that might be a cause of concern for Paul. However, the YouTuber proved them wrong, to say the least. GSP revealed that he expected the outcome to happen like this only. He mentioned Paul had been training really hard for that fight, Askren not so much.

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“Yeah, I thought he would have, yeah. I know because I know people that was training at the same gym as him and they told me he was training very hard,” said St-Pierre.

“Jake Paul was training very hard. And I know that Ben Askren only went for a week at Freddie Roach and he was not doing great,” he added further.

Askren disappointed many fans of the MMA community with his performance. Many pinned their hopes on ‘Funky’ to beat Paul and shut his hype train for good. Paul had been trash-talking MMA fighters for a long time. That approach didn’t sit well for the most. However, Askren did the opposite of shutting down Paul’s hype train. Rather the YouTuber exploited the opportunity to gain momentum to his hype.

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What’s next for Jake Paul?

‘The Problem Child‘ is set to fight former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley next in a boxing match. Woodley is a long-time friend and training partner of Askren.

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The feud between Paul and Woodley escalated during the pre-fight preparations of the Askren bout. Nevertheless, it is surely a step up in competition for Paul. ‘The Chosen One’ has actual knockout prowess at his disposal. How the fight eventually plays out, remains to be seen.

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Apratim Banerjee is an MMA author for EssentiallySports and has been writing professionally for almost a year. Before his current gig, Apratim worked as a UFC writer for Sportskeeda. A long-time MMA fan, Apratim has developed a critical eye for the sport that has helped him transfer his vast knowledge to his copies and give hardcore and casual readers a detailed insight into the fights and fighters.

‘He Was Training Very Hard’- Georges St-Pierre Says He Was Not Surprised by Jake Paul Knocking Out Ben Askren

What’s next for Jake Paul?

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