Jorge Masvidal made history on Saturday night with his knockout of Ben Askren at UFC 239 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Immediately after the fight began, Masvidal charged at Askren and nailed him in the head with a flying knee. Askren went straight to the mat and was out of it. Masvidal got in two punches before the referee was able to jump in and stop the fight.
The five-second knockout was the fastest finish in UFC history.
Masvidal’s knockout was ruthless, and the comments he offered afterwards were just as ruthless. He said he used the flying knee because Askren is a “bum.”
Rogan: Why the flying knee?
Masvidal: Because he’s a bum.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 7, 2019
Masvidal: I had to show him that there’s consequences sometimes.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 7, 2019
Masvidal had been promising a brutal knockout of Askren in the time leading up to the fight and delivered.
“We’re gonna do it painfully and brutally,” Masvidal said to MMA Fighting. “That’s for sure. I don’t like this dude as everybody here knows, so it’s gonna be brutal. It’s gonna be painful. I don’t know what round, but it’s gonna be painful.”
The welterweight fighter stayed true to his word, though the knockout probably came much quicker than he expected.
This is Masvidal’s second straight headline-making win. After beating Darren Till in March, he got into a fight backstage too.
