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Nicolas Atkin

Dana White’s immediate reaction after stepping into the Octagon to congratulate Jorge Masvidal on his stunning knockout of Ben Askren – the fastest in UFC history at five seconds – pretty much said it all.
“That was f******* insane,” White was heard telling “Gamebred” as medics tried to bring Askren around.
Masvidal had time to throw in a couple of punches to the face for good measure before the referee had stepped in, but it was over the instant his flying knee connected with Askren’s temple.
“That was one of the most vicious knockouts I’ve ever seen,” White told the post-event press conference in Las Vegas.

Masvidal absolutely destroyed Ben Askren at UFC 239. I've never seen anything like this before. The fight was over before I even blinked. pic.twitter.com/ktl3GqWG7U
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) July 7, 2019

Askren was taken to hospital and the UFC president confirmed all of his tests came back negative. “He’s OK,” White said, before adding: “I’m sure he’s not OK, but, you know.”
The former Bellator and One champion looked like he didn’t know where he was when he was led out of the Octagon, having laid prone on the canvas for a few minutes.

Ben Askren leaves the Octagon after being KO’d by Jorge Masvidal #UFC239 (via @grosenstein) pic.twitter.com/m5wwZGZaZC
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 7, 2019

“He’s bringing planking back,” was the reaction of UFC interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, in an excited reaction after watching the knockout in the middle of a backstage interview.
Masvidal showed off his “planking” too, jumping on the canvas after the knockout and mimicking the way Askren went “stiff as a board” in images that are surely already being used for a dozen different memes.
“I’m not God but I just baptised two people back to back,” Masvidal said, referencing his other highlight reel knockout of Darren Till. “The title is next.”

#fakenews Ben is still sleeping pic.twitter.com/eLCDYG1VOv
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) July 7, 2019

The talk of memes is apt, given that is the playground of Askren. He likes to mock fighters on social media with his favourite catchphrase “boom roasted”. He had tried to get in Masvidal’s head, claiming he was intimidated when he missed a pre-fight media day (Masvidal said he was sick) and that he had wiped the floor with Masvidal when they did wrestling training in 2008.
“There’s not too many people I dislike,” Masvidal said. “I have over 50 pro fights, he talked about my manhood, my culture, my ethnicity. Why do certain people get to do stuff online, you’re allowed to do and say whatever you want, other fighters can talk about other people’s religion, their wife?”
You could argue Askren’s online trolling smacks of arrogance, but up until Saturday night he had always backed up his bravado – he was 19-0, despite having no real striking game of note, because his grappling is at such an incredible level.

"I gave him what he deserved."
"I'm glad I did him like that to show the world he doesn't belong at this level."
Jorge Masvidal reacts to his stunning KO of Ben Askren.
He had been waiting for this a long time...#UFC239 pic.twitter.com/4nRtMBSfcV
— Watch UFC 239 live on BT Sport Box Office (@btsportufc) July 7, 2019

Many thought Robbie Lawler was about to teach him a lesson when he body-slammed Askren on his head in his first UFC fight and rained down shots on his face. Askren survived and beat Lawler but it was a debatable stoppage and not everyone was convinced.
“He’s not a mean guy, he doesn’t wanna punch me in the face,” Masvidal said. “He’s so predictable, man, he’s a scrub.
“Part of me just wanted to throw it out there, so if you do shoot like an idiot, like only you know how to … He took the bait, I put my hands behind my back, he probably thought we were gonna pattycake it up, he walked right into it.”

The aftermath of Jorge Masvidal’s fastest KO in UFC history #UFC239 NOW LIVE ON ESPN+ ️ https://t.co/L04GJTkOYQ pic.twitter.com/bPUpLtLsoc
— ESPN (@espn) July 7, 2019

For a fighter who prides himself on possessing superior intelligence to his competitors, Askren’s fight plan did seem idiotic. Though given the shocked reaction of everyone in the T-Mobile Arena, and everyone commenting on social media, nobody saw that coming.
“That dude’s a killer, man,” White said of Masvidal. “What a brilliant plan, the execution, everything of that flying knee was brilliant.
“If you’re going in to fight with Ben Askren you can 99.9 per cent predict he’s gonna try to take you down right out of the gate. That’s what he thought, he set up the flying knee perfectly, landed it perfectly, it was super impressive.”

Masvidal is a Savage in his Post Fight Comments! #UFC239 pic.twitter.com/wkCAEhDjvA
— NotoriousZN (@NotoriousZN) July 7, 2019

Masvidal joked that White might be mad that he embarrassed his “boy” Askren. But the UFC president has had a rocky relationship with the former Olympic wrestler, which kept him out of the UFC until the age of 34 when he had already retired believing he would never get the call, with some believing White didn’t like Askren’s fighting style.
The Cuban-American stressed it wasn’t “personal” between him and Askren, but it clearly was. He took great delight in dealing out a huge slice of humble pie.
“He thought it was going to be a three piece,” Masvidal said, referring to his own catchphrase. “He ended up getting the whole MGM Grand buffet to the face.”

“I’m coming for that belt. You know who deserves that belt. I deserve that next title shot. After this performance, I don’t want to say anything. I’ll let the fans do the talking." - @GamebredFighter after getting the fastest KO in @UFC history #UFC239. pic.twitter.com/Iz7rnBh4xI
— UFC News (@UFCNews) July 7, 2019

“My whole vision was me beating his a** for 14 minutes and then putting him out like that,” Masvidal added. “I wanted to destroy him for as long as I could, bust his kneecaps, make him p*** blood. I think he got off easy.
Keeping up with the food theme, Masvidal had one last warning for Askren.
“It’s not over for Ben, he still has to deal with me, because if I see that dude at Wholefoods I’m gonna slap him up, because I don’t like him,” he said.


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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

UFC 239: Jorge Masvidal serves Ben Askren some humble pie – and ‘the whole MGM Grand buffet to his face’

Jorge Masvidal lands a couple of punches on Ben Askren after knocking him out cold with a flying knee. Photo: UFC/Twitter

UFC 239: China’s Song Yadong – inspired by Jet Li and the Monkey King – is out to conquer the world

Song Yadong celebrates a win at UFC Singapore. Photo: Lee Li/AsiaMMA

SINGAPORE - JUNE 22: Song Yadong of China poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in at the Mandarin Oriental on June 22, 2018 in Singapore. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

UFC Shanghai

Song Yadong (right) in Singapore. Photo : Handout

UFC 239: Chinese phenom Song Yadong knocks Alejandro Perez out cold on emphatic US debut

Song Yadong is now 4-0 in the UFC. Photo: AFP

UFC 239: Masvidal claims sensational five-second KO win over Askren; Rockhold’s revival derailed after vicious knockout

Jorge Masvidal, lands a flying knee on Ben Askren at the start of their welterweight bout at UFC 239. Photo: AP

Jorge Masvidal celebrates his knockout victory over Ben Askren during their welterweight mixed martial arts bout at UFC 239, Saturday, July 6, 2019, in Las Vegas. Masvidal won by the fastest knockout in UFC history. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

Jan Blachowicz, right, reacts after knocking out Luke Rockhold during the second round of their light heavyweight mixed martial arts bout at UFC 239, Saturday, July 6, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

UFC 239: Jon Jones gets decision over Thiago Santos; Amanda Nunes takes out Holly Holm with huge head-kick

Jon Jones celebrates after defeating Anthony Smith. Photo: AFP

Sport

Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts

‘Gamebred’ says it ‘wasn’t personal’ between them after his sensational five-second flying knee KO – but it clearly was
Askren taken to hospital after vicious knockout – ‘he’s OK … I’m sure he’s not OK, but, you know,’ says Dana White


‘Gamebred’ says it ‘wasn’t personal’ between them after his sensational five second flying knee KO – but it clearly was.


Martial arts

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

The Takedown

The Takedown | UFC 239: Jorge Masvidal serves Ben Askren some humble pie – and ‘the whole MGM Grand buffet to his face’

‘Gamebred’ says it ‘wasn’t personal’ between them after his sensational five-second flying knee KO – but it clearly was Askren taken to hospital after vicious knockout – ‘he’s OK … I’m sure he’s not OK, but, you know,’ says Dana White

‘Gamebred’ says it ‘wasn’t personal’ between them after his sensational five-second flying knee KO – but it clearly was

Askren taken to hospital after vicious knockout – ‘he’s OK … I’m sure he’s not OK, but, you know,’ says Dana White