- [Will] It's July 6th, 2019.
We're at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC 239.
Welterweights, Jorge Masvidal
and Ben Askren are about to face off,
and we are about to witness history.
But to understand the history of this moment,
the long roads these guys took to get here,
the hatred that's built between them,
and the possibility of this actually
unraveling into full-on beef...
we need to rewind. (enigmatic music)
There are countless points of intrigue
that got each fighter to this moment right here.
But for Ben Askren, we should also celebrate the fact that,
whether you like him or not, he's actually finally here.
Askren put together
a legendary college wrestling career at Missouri,
that vaulted him onto the US Olympics team in 2008.
And now, as a professional mixed martial artist,
he has never lost a fight.
Askren's undefeated streak began in 2009,
none of his first four opponents
made it out of the first round,
and that last one marked his debut with Bellator.
Think of Bellator
as the UFC's younger, less well-funded stepbrother.
For Askren, it represented the next step
towards his ultimate goal,
and he quickly found solid footing.
Four fights, four wins in 2010,
and Askren quickly sat atop the welterweight division.
He dominated fights with his wrestling skills,
controlling opponents and either turning their mistakes
into submission opportunities,
or giving them very few chances
to impact the judge's scorecards.
In his last Bellator title defense,
his fourth time doing so,
Askren outstruck his opponent 248 to 3, that feels mean.
That fight came at an interesting point
in Askren's career though,
it was the last one on his contract with Bellator.
And sitting at 12-0, championship belt in hand,
the idea of Askren, quote unquote,
"graduating" from Bellator and into the UFC
made a lot of sense.
Askren even convinced Bellator to agree to part ways
with him as the UFC had some level of interest.
However, once released, that interest dried up,
or maybe was never really there from Dana White
who had offered all sorts of choice quotes
about Askren's situation with Bellator.
Maybe this was a game of his own,
White and Askren did have some level of history
even if it was just through Twitter replies.
Askren did allegedly get offered a contract,
just not one that stoked confidence
in the championship contention he felt he deserved.
In the end, he signed up with One Championship,
a Singapore-based promotion which allowed Askren
to continue doing his thing while UFC remained uninterested.
He quickly became their welterweight champ,
defeated everyone they threw his way.
Did have his record slightly blemished with a no-contest,
but never lost that belt, never recorded an L.
And after eight plus years in the sport,
Askren had accomplished all he could,
or at least all he could on his own.
He still very clearly wanted
to show the UFC what he could do
calling out basically everyone possible.
He even had support from UFC's welterweight champion
and former Missouri teammate, Tyron Woodley,
who felt Askren could represent
a major addition to the roster.
In November, 2018, it became official.
After nearly a decade of beating everyone thrown his way,
Askren finally reached the UFC.
His first test, Robbie Lawler.
Lawler was just two fights removed
from losing the welterweight championship,
but he'd also made his UFC debut
before Askren had even started college.
While it was an intriguing matchup,
we entered with questions about Askren's place in the UFC,
but got maybe half an answer.
Things looked really bad for Askren when Lawler
put him in a record scratch yep-that's-me moment
before slamming him back down to earth.
Punches raining down, forehead opened up,
and as Joe Rogan put it.
- [Joe Rogan] He's already in the most trouble
he's ever been in his career.
- [Will] All of that within the first minute
of his UFC debut, but Askren hung on.
He slowed things down, took control,
and right along the fence
managed to put Lawler in a bulldog choke.
Now, watch Lawler's right arm,
it's on Askren's head
as referee Herb Dean rotated for a better angle.
And then, it quickly flapped down to the map.
The commentators immediately reacted.
- [Joe Rogan] He's going out, he's out, he's out, he's out!
- [Jon Anik] Ben Askren submits Robbie Lawler!
- [Will] Dean saw the same thing and stepped in,
but immediately everyone realized they were wrong.
In the blink of an eye, as Lawler looked unconscious,
Dean missed Lawler signaling he was okay.
Askren got the win,
but even with the Nevada Athletic Commission
supporting Dean's decision,
it was a tough result in terms
of gauging Askren's performance.
Well, unless you asked, Askren, unsurprisingly,
he immediately set sights on a new challenger
dismissing the rematch that White suggested post-fight.
Askren wanted someone new,
someone who would help propel him towards title contention.
Askren wanted Darren Till, the highly regarded welterweight
who had genuine champion potential
and therefore would be a good name
for Askren to add to his tally.
But here's the thing,
that's not Darren Till, that's Jorge Masvidal,
he's here because he knocked Till's ass out.
Masvidal offers quite the contrast to Askren.
Instead of NCAA championships or going to the Olympics,
Masvidal earned his stripes through street fighting.
Born and raised in Miami,
Masvidal was a part of the same community
that helped Kimbo Slice make a name for himself.
Masvidal even famously fought Slice's protege.
That footage shows a young, determined fighter
who definitely needed refinement but had a genuine spark.
Throughout his professional career, Masvidal carried himself
as you'd expect from someone with his background.
He just had a scrappiness,
an ability to turn a fight fully on its head,
kept audience on their toes
not quite knowing how things will go.
Masvidal took whatever opportunity presented itself
before eventually landing with Bellator in 2009.
Bellator led to Strikeforce,
a promotion also owned by UFC's parent company, Zuffa.
So, when Strikeforce dissolved,
the UFC had the option to pick up his contract.
While Masvidal got lost in a sea
of bigger names at the time, he hit the ground running.
Masvidal lost just one of his first six fights,
but even in the winds, a pattern began to form.
Masvidal's fights kept going to the judges,
the unanimous decision victories
eventually slipped to split decision losses.
He still racked up some wins, especially when Masvidal
took things into his own hands and ended fights early.
But by 2017, he took a downturn,
a split decision loss to Demian Maia,
followed by a more emphatic defeat from Stephen Thompson,
led to a 2018 where Masvidal didn't fight.
Approaching his mid-thirties,
Masvidal took time to evaluate his craft.
He did so in that classic way
of appearing on a reality TV show in the Dominican Republic
that took away all contact with the outside world.
You know, that thing.
With time to reflect, Masvidal mentally worked
through his fights reengineering the losses,
and came to a conclusion that made a ton of sense.
It also offered great insights
into how he approached the sport,
pretty brutal and unique display of determination
but also a necessary one.
Looking at Masvidal's run
since he joined Strikeforce in 2011,
only four fights had ended early for Masvidal
and each time he came out on top.
Those 15 other fights all went the distance,
and all seven of his losses came by way of the judges.
Simply, Masvidal figured his best chance to win
was to not let anyone but him decide things.
After 16 months of reflection outside the octagon,
Masvidal's first opportunity to baptize a welterweight
came from a showdown with Darren Till.
For many people, coming off a long layoff,
Till wouldn't be the most desirable challenger,
he'd only lost once as a pro
which came at the hands of the welterweight champ.
The fight even took place in London,
in front of a packed house
supporting their fellow Englishmen.
And 10 seconds in, it looked like Masvidal
might have another loss to reengineer.
Till maintain the upper hand for much of the first round,
but as the fight wore on, Masvidal got more comfortable.
He began landing solid shots more routinely,
brushed off Till's responses,
even offered a cheeky little kiss.
But with two minutes left in the second round,
Masvidal sent the message he'd been looking for.
After an early scare,
Masvidal got his timing down and shocked the London crowd.
A crowd with one very familiar face,
and now, that face is actually in the octagon with Masvidal.
Knowing the road each guy took to get here,
we can now appreciate their shared journey
over the last three months.
Spoiler, they hate each other.
While Askren is an extremely accomplished wrestler,
he might be just as strong of a self-promoter.
He's called out plenty over the years,
from GSP to more recently Till,
but Askren also knows the importance of hedge in his bets.
This tweet looked like the beginning,
but Askren quickly clarified
that of all the people he'd called out,
Masvidal was the most deserving.
Askren didn't like the dude
dating back to a 2009 training session.
Masvidal did his best to not get sucked in
calling trash talk in general stupid and corny.
That came before his fight with Till,
which came before his post-fight altercation
with fellow welterweight Leon Edwards
who's chirping led to Masvidal stepping away
from an interview in order to give Edwards
a three-piece and a soda.
Not one to let an opportunity pass him by,
Askren took credit for that dust up.
Now, showing just how impressive
Askren's trash talk was, Masvidal responded.
Surely, he chose these words carefully
to make sure that this trash talk wasn't corny
or stupid as he's felt in the past.
He never actually said Askren's name either,
just that he saw the Lawler fight
and didn't agree with the result.
This carried on for a while.
Askren poked Masvidal while talking
about the altercation with Edwards,
Masvidal responded to say Askren should be careful
so he doesn't suffer that same fate.
Fairly playful, to this point,
albeit possibly out of character for Masvidal.
But then, Askren properly struck a nerve,
he again spoke about their training session
a decade earlier and portrayed his opponent as weak,
someone Askren knew he could do whatever he wanted to.
Granted, his final assessment
might have been a touch shortsighted.
Conveniently, Masvidal made a podcast appearance that week,
he had the opportunity to colorfully
respond to Askren's statements.
He put it as simply as possible,
Jorge Masvidal does not like Ben Askren.
So much so that the man who spent
16 months reflecting only to come to the conclusion
of taking things into his own hands
had the hope of going the distance with Askren,
specifically to make him suffer as much as possible.
While they didn't headline the event,
they stole the headlines leading up to July 6th.
The back and forth never let up,
which means depending how things go here tonight,
this could be on the verge of beef territory
and we need to go make a whole different video.
But before we get to it, we should understand
what possibly could come next because simply put,
it feels like anything could happen.
There is one result that would likely squash
any potential lingering beef, something brutally one-sided
that leaves no questions, like a very quick knockout.
Something in the realm of possibilities
since it's possible with every MMA fight.
Leon Edwards recipient of Masvidal's three-piece combo
recorded the most recent eight-seconds
or less KO back in 2015.
The quickest ever though,
belongs to another welterweight, Duane Ludwig.
No one has been able to even match the record
he set in 2006 when he downed Jonathan Goulet
almost before the clock had even come on screen.
While something speedy could put things to bed
between Askren and Masvidal,
there's little reason to expect it.
For one, Masvidal already said he wants
to drag this thing out as long as he possibly can.
On Askren's side of things,
his style has been compared to a rug,
he throws himself over his opponent
and just controls things from the top.
Sometimes, that leads to them making a mistake
which Askren can capitalize on, but often it leads to him
just not letting his opponent do a goddamn thing.
He's the sort of fighter
Masvidal has struggled with in the past,
a wrestler who can keep it from become a standup fight
where Masvidal's been most successful.
And Askren did actually pull off a knockout
in the first minute of his final bout
with One not too long ago.
That's something Masvidal's also only done once
in his career but way back
when he was fighting in an event
just slightly less reputable than the UFC.
On the flip side, both dudes are very hard to finish.
Masvidal's last lost by something other
than scorecards was in 2009,
and that required getting to the third round to do so.
With Askren, well, he still hasn't lost.
Basically, for a long time,
neither fighter has shown much ability
for a fight to finish early in either direction.
I say much because, as you remember,
both guys did have early scares in their most recent fights.
Askren got dropped hard by Lawler,
Masvidal hit the mat in the opening 10 seconds,
but realistically,
we're in for a long night.
Askren's looking to fully squash any questions
as to his place within the UFC.
His long, undefeated road to get to this point
could be well worth it if he passes each test
on the way to hopeful UFC championship contention.
For Masvidal, it's the chance
to resurrect title hopes of his own,
to stay true to his refreshed outlook
and approach to the sport,
and to get the best of a man he's quickly grown to hate.
So, with that, it's time.
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Jon Anik] The fight clock is brought to you by Modelo.
(crowd and commentators screaming)
Wow! One of the quickest knockouts you'll ever see!
- [Joe Rogan] Oh my goodness!
(crowd and commentators screaming)
- [Will] Thank you as always for watching
and also for being you, I hope you're well.
We should talk more, but until then,
I think you'll enjoy more videos
and I think I'll enjoy if you subscribe to our channel,
we'll see you soon.