Jorge Masvidal should not be underestimated, according to Darren Till

Number 4 ranked UFC welterweight fighter, Jorge Masvidal (33-13) is returning to the Octagon against Ben Askren (19-0) at UFC 239. Due to his undefeated record and elite wrestling ability, Askren is the bookmaker favourite for the upcoming bout. However, Darren Till believes Masvidal shouldn’t be underestimated.

“I think him and Askren … I don’t wanna underestimate Masvidal, I wanna stay on the fence with this fight… Masvidal could just pull something off the back or defend the takedowns,” Till told Fighters Only (transcript via MMA Mania). “Ben’s doing okay and he’s got a lot of hype around him. The thing about Ben is he’s a good fighter, he’s a very smart guy, he just loves the sound of his own voice. Just shut up, mate, give it a rest.”

Askren frequently makes the headlines for his comments aimed at other fighters. Till is critical of Askren’s trash talking. On the contrary, he respects the way Jorge Masvidal conducts himself.

“Masvidal, he’s a respectful guy..He’d come to me after the fight and I was —not crying — but I had my head down and someone tapped me on my shoulder and it was Masvidal, and he shook my hand. He was like, ‘You nearly had me in the first [round].’

Till is planning to return to the octagon this year and is eyeing a rematch against Masvidal who beat him in March by knock out.

“I want that f**king rematch. I want that rematch.”

Askren was originally expected to fight Till in his next bout. Jorge Masvidal was able to jump the queue by knocking out Till, however.

A potential rematch between Darren Till and Jorge Masvidal currently seems unlikely. Till experienced back to back losses against Tyron Woodley and Masvidal. Meanwhile, if Masvidal beats Askren, he will likely be looking at a title shot against current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

Askren will be fighting Masvidal this weekend this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Who do you think will win?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 7/2/2019.