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Ben Askren has picked his winner for the UFC 261 welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal.
Giving his prediction to MMA journalist James Lynch, 'Funky' said that he believes Kamaru Usman will come out victorious in the championship battle. However, there is always a chance that Jorge Masvidal will go home with a knockout:
"Usman, duh. I mean there's obviously the factor of Jorge could get a knockout, but I think it's probably more chance that Usman wins."
'The Nigerian Nightmare' will face Jorge Masvidal in the fourth defense of his title in a year and four months. The two faced each other once before at UFC 251 last year, where Kamaru Usman successfully retained his title with a unanimous decision win.
Jorge Masvidal took that fight on less than a week's notice, which has played a factor in him claiming on multiple occasions that if he had a full fight camp, he would have definitely beaten the champion.
Usman is determined to prove Masvidal wrong this time, and also take his current streak to 14, which would be the longest in the UFC, second only to Anderson Silva's streak of 16 wins.
Ben Askren has a history with Jorge Masvidal
Ben Askren would surely know a thing or two about getting knocked out by Jorge Masvidal. 'Gamebred' scored the fastest ever KO in UFC history by finishing Askren in five seconds in the first loss of the former Olympian's career.
Ever since, the two have shared a bitter ongoing rivalry.
Prior to the loss to Jorge Masvidal, Ben Askren had a near-perfect MMA record with only one 'No Contest' and zero defeats across multiple promotions such as Bellator and ONE Championship, where he has been the champion in his division. He also represented the United States in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in Freestyle Wrestling.
Despite being the owner of such a decorated career, Ben Askren is being considered by many as the underdog for his upcoming bout against Jake Paul.
Ironically, there too Jorge Masvidal happens to play a role.
'Street Jesus' is seemingly training the YouTuber-turned-boxed for the April 17 fight, set to take place over eight rounds at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Jorge Masvidal also appeared on a video call during the press conference of the event.
In an act of apparent pettiness, Jake Paul called Jorge Masvidal and the two took turns to make fun of Ben Askren's five-second knockout by 'Gamebred'.
However, Ben Askren did not seem to be rattled by any of these antics, and walked out of the press conference as the clear winner of the situation.
