“Don’t do this”, “Not a good idea” – MMA fans fear the worst for Ben Askren as he accepts Jake Paul fight

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4 years ago

Ben Askren of United States celebrates after defeating Agilan Thani of Malaysia in the welterweight world championship bout during the One Championship Dynasty of Heroes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 26, 2017 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

Ben Askren accepts the invitation and sets a date for his fight against Jake Paul

Ben Askren, the former UFC welterweight, has accepted the invitation to fight American YouTuber-turned-Boxer Jake Paul.

‘Funky’ went on his Twitter account to post a video where he says that he accepts Jake Paul’s invitation to fight in a boxing match.

Askren seems visibly cocky in the video, and even sets a date on the fight. Askren wrote “Yes @jakepaul I accept. See you March 28.”, alongside the video that he posted.

“The choice is simple. I’m going to make a whole bunch of money, to beat up a guy who is pretending to be an athlete.”

Jake Paul looks on after defeating AnEsonGib in a first round knockout during their fight at Meridian at Island Gardens on January 30, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Askren went on to list all his achievements in the video and mocked Paul for ‘deluding’ himself into thinking he’s a boxer. However, his fans still don’t seem convinced.

Askren retired from MMA in November 2019 after losing to Damien Maia. That was his second consecutive loss after he started his professional career with a 19-0-1 record.

His earlier loss came against Jorge Masvidal, when a flying knee from ‘Gamebred’ knocked Askren out within 5 seconds of their UFC 239 fight.

Some MMA fans think Jake Paul may end up beating Paul Askren

Paul’s two ‘professional’ boxing matches have been against rookies like himself. He beat British YouTuber Ali Loui Al-Fakhr (AnEsonGib) and former NBA player Nate Robinson.

Ben Askren was on the floor after just five seconds against Jorge Masvidal. (GETTY Images)

The fight against Askren, if it does manage to become official, will be the first time Paul has faced a professional MMA athlete inside the ring.

Despite Askren being an accomplished Bellator champion, some MMA fans still reacted to his Twitter video fearing the worst for the retired 36-year-old Askren.

While some replies are meant to be sarcastic, most of them seem to be doubting if Askren could hold his own against Paul. After all, boxing is one thing that Askren was definitely not famous for.