Ben Askren is taking his loss to Jake Paul about as well as could be expected, but he still feels as though he left a lot of people disappointed on Saturday.
After weeks of trash talk that even predated the announcement of their boxing match, Jake Paul made good on his word of knocking out Ben Askren in the very first round. As Paul predicted, Askren was never able to mount any offense at all, and the All-American was swiftly put away two minutes into the fight.
Much to the chagrin of his supporters, Askren had no answers for Paul in this contest. Now, he will have to answer to the inevitable deluge of criticism that is awaiting him from detractors and trolls after the loss. Speaking to reporters after the fight, the former ONE FC and Bellator champion stated that this criticism will be warranted.
“I probably deserve it,” Askren said of the incoming criticism. “I got knocked out by Jake Paul. It’s fuckin’ embarrassing.”
One of the narratives leading into the event was that Askren was serving as a representative of the MMA community in this fight. While some fighters like Jorge Masvidal as well as many in the community at large may have felt differently, there is no denying that Askren carried the label of “MMA fighter” with him to a mainstream platform in this showdown with Paul. After the loss, Askren acknowledges that he left many people dissatisfied with his performance, but he believes the disappointment goes far beyond anyone specific group or fan base.
“I didn’t let the MMA community down. I let the world down,” Askren said. “People fuckin’ hate Jake Paul, and they wanted to see me make him miserable, and I didn’t do that. So I didn’t let the MMA community down; I let the world down.”
Despite admitting to being embarrassed by the outcome and feeling as though he let many people down, Askren still remains his usual carefree self, even after things didn’t go his way Saturday.
“I don’t really give a shit,” Askren said. “There’s some pizza waiting in my hotel room. I’m gonna go eat that. I’m gonna go fly home and hang out with my kids tomorrow. And on Monday, I’ll probably go to wrestling practice.”
Of course, the massive payday that he netted will also make this tough Jake Paul pill all the easier for Askren to swallow.
Do you think Ben Askren should be embarrassed by his loss to Jake Paul?
