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From Awkward Spinning Back Fists to Getting Knocked Out in 5 Seconds: Ben Askren’s Most Embarrassing Moments in MMA

Published 04/13/2021, 12:28 PM EDT

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Former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren’s time in the UFC was horrible. He entered the organization with a lot of hype as the welterweight champion in ONE. However, after one controversial victory against Robbie Lawler, it all went downhill for the Olympian.

Askren has had many embarrassing moments in his UFC career, but he was still an accomplished fighter. He is now retired from the UFC but is set to fight controversial YouTuber Jake Paul in a boxing match on April 17th. Ahead of that fight, let’s take a look at Ben Askren’s most embarrassing moments in MMA.

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Askren’s fight against Demian Maia was his last one in MMA. He lost the fight via submission in the 3rd round. However, the entire fight was an awkward display of punches and spinning back fists.

Askren couldn’t keep up with Maia’s striking prowess and was outstruck on the feet in the terms of significant strikes.

What’s more, he couldn’t hack it on the ground either as Maia dominated the important parts of the fight to get the submission. It was a sad ending to a great career.

However, while his career was on a high, Askren was on a winning streak of 17-0. He had a big feud with Dana White, and it was a miracle that the UFC finally got him in. The highlight of this awkward feud was Askren asking White to make a 165-pound division in the UFC.

He tried to spin as a Russia vs. USA kind of fight and called out Khabib. He famously said, “I would get on his back, and I would chant USA.” While that didn’t work out, it was surely hard to watch.

 

Ben Askren’s history-making moment: His fight versus Jorge Masvidal

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Nothing, absolutely nothing, can top Askren’s most embarrassing moment. He was set to fight rising star Jorge Masvidal in a match after a lot of trash-talking. It was going to be one of the greatest matches of his career. People were ready to see a long, drawn-out slugfest between a grappler and a striker.

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However, it was all over within five seconds. Masvidal knocked Ben Askren out with a devastating flying knee. This highlight reel was played everywhere around the world, and it was surely the lowest point of Askren’s career.

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Do you think Ben Askren is back to his former self or is he the shadow that we saw taking the stage against Gamebred?

Jorge Masvidal and His Flying Knee Knockout

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Written by:

Aniket Awasthi

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Aniket Awasthi is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. This STEM undergraduate combines an insatiable urge to write with his admiration for MMA and the UFC in general to enhance his journalism. He calls charismatic names like Chael Sonnen and 'The Count' Michael Bisping as his favorite fighters, but he is a great admirer of the rise of Israel Adesanya ever since he fought Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221.
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