ATLANTA – Ben Askren’s boxing match with Jake Paul couldn’t have gone worse than he did for former Bellator champion and ONE championship.
Askren was disappointed Saturday night, to say the least, after his fight ended in devastation when he suffered a TKO loss in the first round against the YouTube star at the head of the Triller Fight Club at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It was a one-sided fight, as Paul landed a one-punch bomb that dropped Askren. He got up again but could not respond intelligently to the referee, forcing him to leave him out.
Askren participated in a virtual media session after the contest and expressed embarrassment at the result.
“I didn’t drop the MMA community, I dropped the world,” Askren told reporters after the fight. “People who hate Jake Paul and wanted him to make him miserable.”
I’m sorry, world 🙁
– Funky (@Benaskren) April 18, 2021
Askren, 36, retired to fight Paul after undergoing hip replacement surgery. Askren, a former Olympic wrestler and two-time national collegiate champion, was never known for his strike during his MMA career.
He showed up Saturday night against 24-year-old Paul, who moved his professional record to 3-0.