Ben Askren thinks he’s a big reason why Jorge Masvidal has emerged as one of the most popular fighters on the UFC’s roster.
Askren, who has the gift of gab, quickly became one of the most talked about fighters on the roster when he made his highly-anticipated UFC debut in March 2019.
He remained unbeaten with a controversial finish of Robbie Lawler at UFC 235, which put him in top contention at 170 pounds. Askren then flew to London to take a front row seat to watch Masvidal fight Darren Till just weeks later, hoping to fight the winner.
After Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) knocked Till out, Askren knew what he wanted next and proceeded to poke and provoke Masvidal until the two were booked for a title eliminator at UFC 239.
The build-up was entertaining. The no-nonsense Masvidal took issue with Askren’s trash talk and vowed to make him pay in their fight.
And that’s exactly what he did when he delivered a record-breaking flying knee, knocking Askren out cold in just five seconds. He followed it up with two extra shots, deeming them “super necessary,” which has become one of Masvidal’s catchphrases.
Following the fight, Masvidal’s popularity skyrocketed, and while Askren said he respects him, he thinks he deserves some credit for helping Masvidal’s star shine.
“I put the spotlight on him,” Askren told ESPN. “His Twitter followers, his Instagram followers, it went five (times higher). I put the spotlight on him. I played the foil to him. I let him shine, unfortunately. I thought I was going to crush him. He says some of these things like the ‘three-piece and a soda’ that maybe he isn’t intentionally funny, but again it’s really authentic and people love that. When he said (expletive) ‘super necessary,’ which I feel like he was kind of a douche for punching me when I was already unconscious – that was just unnecessary, but he says it was ‘super necessary.’
“You know what? It’s pretty funny. I was the dude that got punched, and listen – that was Jorge being real, and that was kind of funny. Even though it was me, and I thought he was a douchebag for punching me when I was unconscious, it was kind of funny. So, yes, there is a certain authenticity to Jorge that people really, really enjoy.”
After sparking Askren, Masvidal capped off his big 2019 with a stoppage win over Nate Diaz at UFC 244 to capture the “BMF” title.
Masvidal has his first UFC title shot against welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on Saturday in the UFC 251 main event at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Ben Askren on Jorge Masvidal's rise to stardom: 'I put the spotlight on him'