Ben Askren is still hoping to avenge his vicious knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal, and “Funky” doesn’t appear to be big booster of Nate Diaz either. But, the wrestler was recently asked for his take on the BMF title Diaz and Masvidal will fight for, and Askren acknowledged it “works”.

The BMF title fight

After Diaz defeated Anthony Pettis by decision at UFC 241 in August, he called for a fight with Masvidal. Diaz made it clear he did so out of respect for the rugged vet, and the latter made it clear he was on board. Due to both men’s reputations as ridiculously tough, call it like it is fighters, the two are going to fight for a ‘BMF’ (‘baddest’ expletive) belt at UFC 244, November 2nd.

Askren’s thoughts on the BMF title

Well, since Askren and Masvidal have history, not surprisingly, he was asked for his thoughts on the BMF title “Gamebred” is fighting for. The former Bellator and ONE champ said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“Honestly, I think it works from a marketing angle,” Askren said. “I don’t love either one of the guys, but I think it definitely works from a marketing angle. They pitched it correctly, and I think it makes sense.”

It’s a little surprising to hear this due to Askren’s feud with Masvidal. But full credit to Askren for being open minded or just honest about it. While it seems like most people are fans of the BMF bit, the concept does have some critics.

As far as Askren’s fighting career, following his record fast, knockout loss to Masvidal in July, he’s booked to fight Demian Maia on October 26th. While discussing the devastating defeat, and his intention to make a title run, Askren said this:

“What I said explicitly was I wanted to come back to see if I was the best in the world,” Askren said. “In that five seconds, we didn’t find that out. We found out Jorge has a fantastic knee and that I’m not invincible, but we didn’t find much else out.

“I think I can bounce back from that pretty quickly and hope that it happens.”

Askren also relayed that he hopes to face Masvidal again, and depending on what happens in their upcoming fights, a rematch is possible. Although, one would think Masvidal won’t be interested in facing Askren again unless it’s a title shot eliminator or for the belt itself. It’s pretty hard to improve on a five second knockout via a flying knee.

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