Jorge Masvidal and Ben Askren have reignited their rivalry in the midst of the build-up to Askren’s upcoming boxing match against Jake Paul.
Back at UFC 239 in July 2019, Masvidal became one of the biggest stars in all of mixed martial arts. He did so after knocking out rival Askren with a vicious knee just five seconds into their bout in Las Vegas.
The bad blood returns
Askren went on to lose to Demian Maia and retire from MMA, whereas Jorge beat Nate Diaz and earned a shot at Kamaru Usman’s UFC welterweight title on short notice. He lost the fight via unanimous decision but next month at UFC 261, he’ll get an immediate rematch in front of the UFC’s first capacity crowd since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
For a while we haven’t seen too much animosity between these two. Unfortunately for Ben, that all changed when Jake Paul and Masvidal decided to FaceTime each other during the Paul vs Askren press conference event.
Now, through social media, things have started to heat up once again.
The individual I buried does not represent MMA. He represents all the hard core and casual crotch sniffers #andnew
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) March 28, 2021
I’ve refrained for 2 years, but let’s be real Jorge. You landed the luckiest knee of your life and I made you famous. You’re welcome. You got 50-43’d by Usman and will likely again next month. Beat it loser. https://t.co/JwZyaxGYa1
— Funky (@Benaskren) March 29, 2021
“The individual I buried does not represent MMA. He represents all the hard core and casual crotch sniffers #andnew” said Masvidal.
In response, Askren made it pretty clear how he feels about ‘Gamebred’.
“I’ve refrained for 2 years, but let’s be real Jorge. You landed the luckiest knee of your life and I made you famous. You’re welcome. You got 50-43’d by Usman and will likely again next month. Beat it loser.”
Masvidal is still one of MMA’s biggest draws whereas Askren seems to be enjoying life after retirement.
We probably aren’t going to see them compete against one another anytime soon, but never say never. After all, who could see Askren going toe-to-toe with Jake Paul this time last year?
Featured image credit: Getty