Former UFC star Ben Askren has defended his decision to fight Jake Paul, even after falling to an embarrassing first-round knockout.
Askren, who was an Olympic wrestler and MMA champion in major organisations like ONE FC and Bellator, fought Paul in April of last year after the YouTuber had beaten basketball star Nate Robinson. The famed wrestler was as well-known for his poor striking as he was for his legendary grappling during his fighting days, but took the fight regardless for a career-high payday.
The fighter had been retired for almost two years when he faced Paul, and had undergone hip surgery. But he believes that it would have been "cowardly" not to do the event, particularly after fellow MMA star Dillon Danis had opted not to compete due to injury.
When a fan asked if Askren had made the right or wrong choice by fighting Paul, he replied: "It was the right decision. Turning it down would have been both cowardly and limiting my opportunity - two things I don’t aspire to. If I win, everyone thinks differently. Sometimes you have to be brave enough to make decisions without an assured outcome."
At the time, there were question marks over how legitimate Paul's boxing credentials were, having previously only beaten a basketball player and two YouTubers. The fight was sold as his first bout with a legitimate fighter, and was reported to have been bought by over 1.5million pay-per-view customers, although Paul has recently claimed it was closer to 500,000.
Askren showed up at a career-heaviest, although criticisms of his physique had been part of his career during his athletic peak. He looked lethargic on the feet before Paul eventually dropped him with a massive shot, and despite insisting he could carry on, the referee called off the fight within a round.
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It was the latest in a string of embarrassments for Askren, who had entered the UFC as an 18-0 multi-promotional world champion and retired at 19-2 with a significantly bruised legacy. He was knocked out with a record-breaking six second flying knee by Jorge Masvidal, and showed his age in his final loss to Demian Maia months later.
However, the fight with Paul had one particular upset; his massive payout. He had never made more than 400,000 from a fight in his career as a top MMA fighter, but he took home a $500,000 base purse to face Paul as well as inking a number of sponsorship deals that may have brought his earnings considerably higher.
He has since fully retired from combat sports and runs his Askren Wrestling Academy in Wisconsin while enjoying life at home with his family. Paul went on to defeat Tyron Woodley twice and is now set to face Hasim Rahman Jr at Madison Square Garden.
