Ben Askren praises Jake Paul's boxing

Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley are among the most renowned competitors to have fallen victim to Jake Paul's surging rise in the world of boxing. The YouTube star-turned-boxer earned a first-round knockout win over Askren in under two minutes at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium earlier this year. He later beat Woodley via split decision in front of a sold-out Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

In a recent interview with Lex Fridman, Ben Askren was asked if he was surprised by Paul's win over Tyron Woodley. Here's what Askren said:

"So the thing I said when I went in to fight him [Jake Paul] is maybe he's good or maybe he's not. We really have no idea to this point, you know. I knew that Tyron was a lot better in boxing than I was. And so I thought that there is a good likelihood that Tyron beats him up but there is a chance that Jake is kind of good at this. I think what played out is he's kind of good at it. And if you saw the way I saw it, he was still impressive in his showing and he has obviously put a lot of time into it. So, he's not bad, I'll say that much."

While Ben Askren may not be a fan of Jake Paul, it appears that he has certainly gained some respect for 'The Problem Child'. This has become even more after the Paul's win over Tyron Woodley who is a longtime friend of Askren's.

Both Askren and Woodley were last seen in action in their respective bouts against Jake Paul earlier this year.

Ben Askren, a highly decorated wrestler, two-time NCAA Division I national champion and 2008 Olympian, joined the UFC in 2018 as an undefeated MMA fighter. After suffering two consecutive losses in the UFC, he announced his retirement from the promotion to undergo hip surgery.

Ben Askren believes he is better at grappling than Khabib Nurmagomedov

Both Ben Askren and Khabib Nurmagomedov are regarded as masters of their craft. At one point, many believed that Askren could have posed a serious challenge to the grappling genius with his elite level of wrestling.

Ben Askren was asked if he thought he could beat 'The Eagle' during his peak in MMA and how he would solve the Khabib puzzle. Askren replied:

"People will get really mad at me if I said yes, but yeah. We would grapple and I think I would be better than him. I feel weird saying this because people will be like yeah, you’re full of s**t, you know. But no one out grappled him, right? Nobody did. Maybe, I’m wrong in this but if we look at the best possible candidates, I’m definitely one of them and obviously, I have a small size advantage too."

Watch the full interview here: