Even though I never saw Paul fight (didn't knew who he was before he signed up for those sideshow boxing fights, so my interest in him is pretty much 0), I don't think it's a huge surprise he koed Askren considering he was old, fat, undersized and could barely box even in it's prime. Still, not gonna lie, it looks pretty bad that a youtuber with barely any experience could ko so easily a former MMA star no matter the circumstances. Does it expose MMA fighters boxing skills as still rudimentary in you opinion?? Or at the very least, in the average fight fan perception??
To people who seriously follow MMA, no. To twitter clowns who half ass follow MMA, boxing, WWE, and actually enjoy these circus slideshows, it'll be a tired, repeated messageboard argument until Jake Paul fights again. "Dude, he fucked up some UFC guy in the first round!!!"
Disagreed its confined to only casual fans. Dana White himself was claiming he was gonna bet 1M on Askren as no way in hell a former MMA champion could lose to a boxing neophyte. Plus, a portion of MMA fans are like a sect, believing only MMA is ''real'' fighting and that basically other combat sports (specifically boxing has they ''hide behind those huge pillow gloves'') are for pussies. To them, the outcome must have been shocking.
That's a very small segment of mma fans. Most laught about Askren striking. His horrible spinning backfist is one of the most used meme on sherdog
Lol no, I don't think anyone above 15 believes that. But not hating on Paul though, word is that he is training hard and he obviously has a bit of talent in the sport. You don't knock a world class athlete with one punch or easily dispatch of a former top MMA fighter without a modicum of talent.
I'm not sure of how small that segment is to be honest. MMA (and boxing too but to a lesser extent) is marketed a lot like WWE, it wouldn't work if most fans were sophisticated and knowledgeable about the sport
*Originally Posted on the General Boxing Forum* "Hurts" May Not Be the Operative Word, but it Damn Sure Doesn't HELP MMA... Ben Askren had 21 Professional Fights, All of Which Began Standing... Yet HE Was Made to Look Like the "Inexperienced, Incompetent Youtuber", by a Guy That Wouldn't Win a Fight in the Dallas Golden Gloves, Nevermind a NATIONAL Amateur Tournament... If a RETIRED Boxer Did This to Askren, No Harm...But Actual Retired Boxers Would Make Jake Paul Look the Way Paul Made Askren Look... REED
I think it hurts only with people who aren’t really knowledgeable about MMA. Let’s not forget James Toney who has a much better rep than Askren lost to an MMA fighter. I think the one that has the edge between a boxer and MMA matchup is a moot point because the boxer usually tends to win in his element and the MMA fighter usually tends to win in his. If people can’t take that into account than they aren’t being reasonable because Askren was obviously not in his element and was at a complete disadvantage. The guy had already retired and obviously was doing this strictly for a final payday. Besides Askren wasn’t exactly the best of the best as he couldn’t hack it in the major’s (the UFC).
Yeah but as Reed said, this wasn't boxing vs MMA under boxing rules as Askren didn't lose to a top boxer (or even a journeyman). He lost (and easily to booth) to a sideshow. Simply by virtue of having the UFC stamp, the causal (and even a lot of knowledgeable) sport fans had to think this should have been a mismatch in favor of the ''real'' fighter.
It may not have been boxing rules per say but it certainly looked like a boxers element and played to a boxers advantage. They were in a boxing ring, wearing boxing shoes, shorts and most importantly of all boxing gloves. If promoters want to call that an MMA fight to make people think it was an even playing field they can certainly try but I know bullshit when I see it. Like I said Askren was at a complete disadvantage here. Askren isn’t a standup fighter and I’ve never seen him show even a semblance of aptitude in that element. If you had slapped a pair of boxing gloves on Royce Gracie in his prime and put him in the ring with a street fighter the caliber of Paul you’d likely get the same outcome.
Like Askren, Toney was Washed Up in His Preferred Combat Sport and Sought a PAYDAY...UNLIKE Askren, Toney Fought a UFC Hall of Famer in his One and Only UFC Bout... Askren Fought a Youtuber Who'd LITERALLY Faced an Undersized Fellow Youtuber and an Undersized Former Basketball Player Previously... This WASN'T Even a "Boxer vs. MMA" Matchup Because NOBODY On the Boxing Side of the Equation is CLAIMING Jake Paul, Despite KO'ing a Dude Who was Ranked # 5 by UFC Less than 2 Years Ago... REED
Exactly! Ben Askren is the 1st Professional FIGHTER Jake Paul Ever Faced...Yet Paul Seems to Be Getting CREDIT for UD'ing a Youtuber and KO'ing Nate Robinson... REED
Yes it looks bad if you only look at the stats. If you look at the facts it’s not a big deal. Askren was a #5 rated UFC fighter based mostly on a pretty dominant career in minor leagues like Bellator and a highly dubious submission win over Lowler. After that Askren got submitted by Miai and starched by Masvidal, a guy who like Paul also started his career as a back-yard brawler. So let’s not pretend Askren is some great representation of a real mixed martial artist. Yes he carries that label but that’s only because by doing so he’s allowed to wrestle, grapple submit or pound guys out on the ground. Askren is not a stand up striker and when you take away everything he does well as a fighter by slapping fingerless boxing gloves on his hands and put him in the ring with a pretty competent boxer he’s pretty much going to lose just like we saw. We don’t know the level of skill Paul actually possesses but styles make fights and this fight was a farce and I can’t believe you guys are falling for it. Ben was the perfect name fighter for Paul to get an easy win against and make a name and some money for himself off. Can you think of a more perfect opponent for Paul to build his rep on than an overrated ex-UFC fighter with a near zero level standup skill? Well in Paul’s bio that’s exactly what he’s listed as, a professional boxer. We can get into semantics if you like but the facts are Paul is the more skilled striker of the two regardless of reps, records and fighting careers, and that was a boxing match not an MMA match. Askren was basically bought in to lose. If they wanted to make the match fair Askren should have been allowed MMA gloves and the ability to grapple, wrestle and submit. It was a complete farce and if you want to see what a complete nonstriker Askren is just YouTube some of his fights and watch how he leads with his head, as his go-to-move is to immediately go in and try to grab his opponent low.
It's Funny Seeing How PROTECTIVE You're Being Over MMA... Years Ago, You OPENLY Shat on Boxing in Favor of MMA and Now You're DEFENSIVE that a Former Highly Ranked MMAist Got his Shit Pushed In by a Youtuber... Fuck Jake Paul's Bio - His 3 Bouts Consist of Aneson Gib (Youtuber), Nate Robinson (Basketball Player) and Ben Askren (MMAist)...Askren is LITERALLY the ONLY Guy Paul's Ever Fought That Had a Professional Fight Previously...As REED Types, Jake Paul has YET to Have a Boxing Match AGAINST A BOXER!!!... No One Would DARE Refer to Conor McGregor as a "Boxer", Yet Even He's Had a Professional Boxing Match Against a LEGIT Boxer...Still Doesn't Make McGregor a "Boxer" Though... "We Don't Know the Level of Skill Paul Possessess"???...Yes We Do, NONE!!!...NADA, ZILCH!!!... You're Sooooooooooo PROTECTIVE Over MMA You're Trying to Convince Yourself Jake Paul is a CREDIBLE Boxer, When NATHAN Could Be Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurther from the Truth...There's Literally ZERO Evidence of Paul Being a Credible Boxer... MMA Will Survive, Obviously, But Calling This Anything OTHER Than What it Was (a BAD Look for MMA) is FanBoying Bruh... REED
I never said this wasn’t a bad look for MMA I was just breaking down what this fight really was beyond the mainstream perspective. This was not me doing defense of MMA nor did I ever shit on boxing over MMA. I spoke on why I personally enjoy MMA over boxing but as an ex-hardcore boxing fan I would never shit on my first love or disrespect the sport of boxing. I do not take sides in a boxing vs MMA dispute and that was never what my take on this fight was about. I was just calling it like I see it. So if my criticism of Askren comes off as defense for MMA it’s probably more the result of how much I dislike Askren (as a fighter). I also was not trying to raise Paul’s profile. I don’t know anything about the guy other than I heard he’s one of those backyard brawlers whose done pretty well. At the same time I just listened to a podcast less than an hour ago where Van Lanthan pretty much agreed with my stance on the fight being a farce when he said he felt played for ordering the PPV. He also said he knows Paul because he works out at the same gym as Paul and that they’ve been bringing in real professional boxers for Paul to train and spar against and that Paul even spars against heavyweights. Like I said, I’m not going to argue semantics, you want to call Paul an amateur boxer or a boxing novice or a guy who landed a lucky punch that’s fine. The fact is Paul and his team gave Paul every advantage in that fight and obviously it looks bad for MMA. I just don’t see how one guy getting his ass kicked will tangibly hurt MMA. Are people still going to practice it? Yes. Are people still going to tune in to watch it despite the fact Askren got stretched even worse than Nat Robinson? Yes. So to answer the thread question, no, I don’t think Paul’s KO of Askren is going to hurt MMA other than a few unflattering articles and talking head convos here and there.
People also probably figured the "real" fighter would train, spar & take this shit at least half seriously. When Askren showed up to the weigh in 21 lbs over his last fighting weight, all of it fat not muscle and with powdered sugar around his mouth, you could see that assumption went south.
I don't know if Askren getting kod hurts mma but Paul beating Yet another mma /ufc in Woodley isn't a good luck for the ufc. If a youtuber can beat two former ufc champions it shows their striking skills are very limited compared to boxers.
Dana White isn't stupid. He matched Toney with one of the best wrestlers. If he matched Toney with someone that loves to stand and fight like Overeem or Rampage, then he would have had a good chance to win. MMA stand is up is embarassing in comparison to boxing and it will always be that way. Look at Holly Holm folding prime Ronda Rousey. They like to forget that part after saying bullshit like Ronda would beat up Floyd Mayweather. Jake Paul is being CAREFULLY matched. These MMA scrubs aren't boxers.
I'm a fan of both sports but seeing Paul a youtuber with only 3 years boxing training beat former ufc champions is pretty cool. Maybe it can shut some of these delusional ufc fans up who think their strikers can beat guys like AJ or Canelo. Their striking skills are light years away compared to the mma guys and they should be no knock on mma either.
I think it’s unfair to not only say one style of fighter is clearly better than the other but to even match them up in the ring. Boxing is a completely different sport than MMA and represents only one component of MMA. By taking on MMA fighters in a boxing element, it not only guarantees JP will look good but also increase his chances of winning while giving him a legitimate opponent. The haters will keep calling for JP to fight a real boxer to prove himself but JP isn’t trying to prove he’s a true boxer, he’s trying to fatten his wallet with competitive but favorable matchups. I didn’t see the fight but Woodley was another good choice of an opponent. A much better striker than Askren but one with zero boxing skills who I believe lost 4 of his last 5. He seemed to have lost confidence in himself several fights ago and has become a borderline loser.
To be fair it's mostly ufc guys calling out boxers. Obviously Dana White puts a cap on their salaries so they see boxing as a way to get paid even if it means being a human punching bag for elite boxers.
Silva destroying Chavez jr is way more an issue than this is.. Askren isn’t a puncher and was retired. Anderson Silva is almost 50 and would probably destroy Paul
