On Saturday night, Ben Askren wound up on the wrong side of an ignominious record: he is now the person to have been knocked out the fastest in UFC history. Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee to start their bout at UFC 239 resulted in a spectacular five-second knockout that will like earn Masvidal KO of the Year honors at the end of the year. It’s a rough way for Askren to pick up his first professional loss and, to his credit, “Funky” seems to be taking the loss pretty well, and his teammate and training partner, Tyron Woodley, says the loss is only going to make Askren better.

Speaking to ESPN on the red carpet of the ESPY award show yesterday, the former welterweight champion addressed Askren’s loss and what advice he would have for his friend.

“I talked to him a little bit,” Woodley said. “He’s a competitor. I just checked on him to make sure his health is good and give him his space. We’ve all got to deal with lessons our own way. If you don’t learn anything from it, it becomes a loss, so I can’t help him learn the lesson that he needs to learn from that. I think it’s gonna take him having to feel a little bit bad, a little bit looking at the mirror like, ‘Damn, that sh*t is reality.’ Whatever lesson he gets from it, I think it will make him a better man, a better fighter.”

Woodley knows what it’s like to be on the losing end of a bad defeat. In March, Woodley lost his welterweight title to Kamaru Usman by unanimous decision, losing all five rounds on each judge’s scorecard and losing a 10-8 round on two of them. The loss put Woodley in a tenuous position in the division, especially with his teammate rising so quickly through the ranks. With Askren suffering this setback though, the door may be opened for Woodley to get a title shot sooner rather than later.

Woodley was supposed to face Robbie Lawler at UFC Minneapolis and a win may have gotten him back into the title picture but a hand injury derailed those plans. But with Colby Covington now set to face Lawler, Woodley believes he should get the next title shot.

“I think it’s so weird right now. Colby fighting Robbie is weird - even me fighting Robbie again was kind of weird,” Woodley said. “I think me and Usman should run it back. . .

“Health is doing well, hand is doing well, healing it up, training hard. I was training right before I came here so, all in all, I’m ready to get back after it, ready to get that belt back.”

Of course, the frontrunner for the next title shot now appears to be Masvidal. His record-breaking KO vaulted “Gamebred” into the public consciousness and he seems to be building serious momentum, but Woodley makes the case that neither Masvidal nor Covington have his resume at welterweight and that, despite his dreadful showing against Usman in their first fight, other UFC champions have been afforded immediate rematches.

“I think the fact that he’s injured, the fact that people are getting tired of Colby sitting around - he hasn’t fought since June of last year and he’s trying to call his shots from a sh*t camera phone - I think it’s real important that people get a moment to sit back and think,” Woodley said. “Tyron beat all the best welterweights, in their prime, the number one contenders, defended his title four times, took out Robbie Lawler in a fraction of a second - which is historical - and he loses a fight, has a bad night. I think if anybody else Joanna [Jedrzejczyk], Cody Garbrandt, Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, anybody else, you see them in the title picture really quickly, so . . . The fans are kind speaking for me though.”

Usman is currently recovering from knee surgery but is targeting a return before the end of 2019.

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MUST-READ STORIES

ESPY. Daniel Cormier wins first Best MMA Fighter ESPY.

Forbes. Conor McGregor lands in Forbes’ top 100 highest-paid celebrities for 2019.

Good spirits. Holly Holm releases statement after UFC 239 loss.

Brawl. Bellator fighter Dillon Danis involved in brawl inside New York City nightclub.

Confidence. Israel Adesanya on Robert Whittaker: ‘He needs Jon Jones or God to help him beat me’.

Bare Knuckle. Ken Shamrock launching his own bare knuckle fighting promotion.

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VIDEO STEW

The A-Side Live Chat.

The Thrill and the Agony.

DC getting his ESPY.

Bellator Countdown.

Robbie Lawler on Hot97.

All Maxcess - International Fight Week.

Kang hitting us with a JBJ-DC 3 promo.

Floyd’s posse is the biggest group of sycophants in the world.

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LISTEN UP

Heavy Hands. In-depth discussion about the biggest stories from UFC 239.

Pull No Punches. Interview with Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Statement from DC.

And DC talking about running into Jon Jones at the hotel.

Props.

Conor.

Statement from Giblert.

It appears Mark Coleman will be boxing Ken in Shamrock’s new org.

Kaufman on her opponent’s weight miss.

Dope.

Corey Anderson finally realizing he needs another win before he gets a title shot.

Look at young Jorge and Yoel.

Bellator signing another collegiate wrestler.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Elizeu Zaleski (21-5) vs. Li Jingliang (16-5); UFC Shenzhen, Aug. 31.

Yorgan De Castro (5-0) vs. Justin Tafa (3-0); UFC 243, Oct. 5.

Kron Gracie (5-0) vs. Cub Swanson (25-11); UFC Fight Night, Oct. 12.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2009: UFC 100 took place, featuring a rematch between heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Lesnar won by second-round TKO. In the co-main event, Georges St-Pierre won a unanimous decision over Thiago Alves to retain his welterweight title, and in a feature bout on the main card, Dan Henderson recorded one of the most iconic KOs in UFC history, knocking out Michael Bisping in spectacular fashion.

2012: Chris Weidman earned himself a title shot, knocking out Mark Munoz at UFC on Fuel TV 4.

2015: Conor McGregor hoisted gold for the first time in the UFC, claiming the interim featherweight title with a second-round TKO of Chad Mendes at UFC 189. In the co-main event, Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald put on one of the greatest fights ever, with Lawler retaining his welterweight title via fifth-round TKO.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I like Tyron, I do. But he in no way deserves a title shot. He got beat pillar to post for 25 minutes. It was definitive. He’s previous run can’t wash that away. What his previous accomplishments mean is that he should be about one or two wins away from another title shot. But no champion really deserves an immediate rematch, and especially not one with only a handful of title defenses to their name.

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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