Ben Askren believes Jorge Masvidal was pressured into accepting fight with Gilbert Burns at UFC 287: “He doesn’t think he’s gonna win either”

Ben Askren has explained why he doesn’t believe Jorge Masvidal will defeat Gilbert Burns when they meet at UFC 287.

It’s no secret that Ben Askren and Jorge Masvidal don’t like each other. After all, ‘Gamebred’ was the one who knocked Askren out cold when they met back in 2019.

Since that famous resurrection year, though, Masvidal has been on a downward trajectory. He was beaten in back-to-back fights by Kamaru Usman before falling to a decision loss against bitter rival Colby Covington.

Many have questioned what’s next for Jorge. Now, we have an answer, after it was announced that he will return to the Octagon to battle Gilbert Burns at UFC 287.

During a recent interview, Askren gave his thoughts on the match-up and why he thinks Masvidal is destined to lose.

“No [Masvidal won’t beat Burns].” “That’s why he’s been saying no to Burns, because he doesn’t think he’s gonna win either. DC, you know how most of these dudes work. If they think, ‘I can beat that dude up,’ they say yes easy. If they think they can’t then they say no. That’s how they work.”

Askren goes after Masvidal

“Burns is what Jorge wants to be, Burns is like, ‘I’ll fight anyone,’ and he actually will.

“Burns has kind of fought everyone. He seems like the guy that’ll say yes no matter what. He wants to fight Colby (Covington), he fought (Khamzat) Chimaev, he’s fought (Kamaru) Usman. He’s kind of fought all the best guys in the division.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Askren, meanwhile, is retired from mixed martial arts, and spends most of his time coaching wrestling.

Do you agree with Ben Askren? If Jorge Masvidal does lose to Gilbert Burns, will he end up walking away from MMA? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, BJPENN Nation!