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Ben Askren has continued to give his thoughts on rival Jorge Masvidal's new tattoo.
While it may have seemed like a good idea for Masvidal at the time, perhaps to help grow his brand even further, the end result may not have been the reaction he wanted.
While 'Gamebred' himself appears to be pretty happy with it, the MMA community has largely been ridiculing him since its unveiling.
The flying knee symbol, as we know, stems from when Masvidal knocked Askren out cold in five seconds back at UFC 239. It still stands tall today as the fastest knockout in UFC history, a record we don't expect to see broken for quite some time.
When asked about his thoughts on the tattoo by Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, 'Funky' had the following to say:
“Ha, it’s terrible. It’s really, oh god. It just looks like cr*p! That’s something a teenager gets and you’re like ‘oh s***, I thought that was gonna look a lot better, I thought this was gonna be really badass.’ But it looks kinda dopey. You think he’s rich, he should go with the best tattoo artist in the place... I think it’s semi-telling how important that singular moment was to his career, and he knows it, and he tattooed it onto his body because it was that important to him.”
Askren hyped up the fight with Masvidal a great deal in the build-up to it and was poking and prodding away on social media for months. In many ways, this is the win that turned Masvidal into a star, especially since it was a few months removed from his knockout triumph over Darren Till at UFC London.
Catch Ben Askren's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
What's next for Jorge Masvidal?
The tattoo was revealed to the world in the days leading up to the main event of UFC 272, where Jorge Masvidal went head-to-head with former friend turned rival Colby Covington.
After a fairly comprehensive decision loss, many are wondering what the next step would be for the former title challenger. As of this writing, there aren't any real answers.
Some think he should retire, whereas others believe he could have a lot left in the tank, provided he isn't put up against elite wrestlers as he has been in his last three outings against Covington and Kamaru Usman.
A new deal for Jorge Masvidal with the UFC, which was announced during fight week, means new opportunities could be on the horizon. A money fight against Conor McGregor is a distinct possibility, with the two exchanging words as far back as UFC 246 in early 2020.
He may also opt for a showdown with Nate Diaz, which would serve as a rematch from their UFC 244 'BMF' collision that Masvidal won via doctor stoppage.
The legend of 'Gamebred' in 2019 is over, but you never know what could come next.
