Jake Paul believes that he had to stop himself from knocking out Ben Askren during their faceoff. In the controversial stand-off, Askren stiff-armed Paul in the face like an NFL running back. The physical nature of the disrespectful shove caused Paul to let off a combination on Askren. However, in reality, Paul was ready to knock Askren out.
Building a Buzz
Buzz for the fight continues to build leading up to its start date. UFC President Dana White told media members that he bets $1 million on Askren to win the battle. Plus, fans on social media have been conversing on if Ben and his unorthodox boxing skill coupled with his combat sports knowledge would be enough to beat Paul.
Both competitors advanced towards a war of word screaming match before their eventual fight. Paul called up Jorge Masvidal, who KO’ed Askren in a UFC record-breaking 5 seconds during the encounter.
Jake Paul on Wanting to Knock Out Ben Askren at Face-Offs
When the man squared off face to face, things got intense when Askren put his hands on Paul. Of course, Paul reacted to the physicality. However, he wanted to exert much more attacking than he displayed.
Ben Askren vs Jake Paul intense faceoff ends with Ben putting his hand in Jake’s face and Jake shoving him #Triller pic.twitter.com/fFQVokTkpI
— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) March 26, 2021
“He turns away, goes to put his hand in my face, boom, pull-counter right to the body. He’s lucky I didn’t knock him out. I stopped myself from knocking him out,” said Jake Paul to the medial.
“Everyone says he has this dumpy power, this wrestling strength, and all this athleticism. This guy is made of flubber. Literally, when I pushed him it was like there was nothing there. He flew six feet. That’s not how a wrestler’s base is. And he tried to sucker punch me and he couldn’t even hit me, so what’s going to happen in the fight. He barely nicked my face,” finished Paul.
Did the encounter between Paul and Askren make fans want to see the entertaining fight night even more?