Masvidal: Askren ‘would have to be a maniac’ to accept rematch

“That dude would have to be a maniac to sign the contract again.”

Jorge Masvidal doesn’t think it would be wise for Ben Askren to campaign for an immediate rematch, not after being starched just five seconds into the opening round of their pivotal welterweight matchup this past weekend at UFC 239.

Masvidal, who KO’d Askren with a highlight-reel flying knee on the UFC 239 main card, believes ‘Funky’ would ‘have to be a maniac’ to even think about signing the contract for a rematch.

“You said like like fighting, like with punches and kicks? You think that dude would fight me again?” Masvidal told MMA Junkie Radio when asked about a potential rematch with Askren. “We can’t speak of things that are no longer present here. That’s almost disrespectful, because if someone’s dead I don’t want to talk about them. We shouldn’t talk about Ben like that, man, because that dude is no longer with us.

“I can’t. That dude would have to be a maniac to sign the contract again. ‘You know what, let me give it another go at this thing with this guy.’ It’s not too keen on me, bro. There’s no way. That’ll never happen.”

With the win Masvidal, a former bare knuckle street fighter and protege of the late Kimbo Slice, climbed to #3 in the official UFC welterweight rankings and is expected to challenge Kamaru Usman for UFC welterweight gold sometime later this year.

Askren, the former ONE FC and Bellator welterweight champ, plummeted down the 170-pound rankings and will need to notch a couple more solid wins before re-establishing himself as a top contender.