ESTIMATED READING TIME: 21 Mins.
When American competitive sports returned on that Mother's Day weekend last year, Champs vs. Stars competitor Michelle Waterson was part of a UFC card in Florida that gave us something to take our minds off of the pandemic. And last Saturday night, the attention of those who love a good fight were on several venues: ESPN aired a full night of UFC action as Robert Whittaker decisioned Kelvin Gastelum in the night's marquee bout, while on FOX Tony Harrison and Bryant Perrella drew their main event in a Premier Boxing Champions card.
But the nightcap to a Saturday Night Fight Night tripleheader came in a totally different and unusual setting for a sport that, once upon a time, was on the same footing as baseball as a major sport and where bouts featuring the biggest names were as anticipated as the Super Bowl or World Series. And the bout that was much more anticipated than either of its established counterparts brought into focus the poster boy of the YouTube generation and one of the most dominant competitors in his sport. And among the fight crowd at home and in person in Atlanta, a girl who is the former's ex and a three-time Challenge champ who rubbed shoulders with the ladder in the leadup to the fight that broke the Internet.
Six years ago next month, sports fans had the ultimate weekend of enjoyment and to become binge watchers for a day when May 2nd was dubbed Super Sports Saturday due to a rare feast of big events all taking place in one day. It began with American Pharoah starting his successful quest for horse racing's Triple Crown at the Kentucky Derby, continued with NHL and NBA playoff action including the defending champion Spurs getting knocked out in a Game 7, day 3 of the NFL Draft, and the Yankees facing the Red Sox at Fenway. It all was capped by a highly anticipated fight that might've let down fans in the end, but brought much needed buzz back to their sport.
That much promoted match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in 2015 helped in some way to bring publicity to a sport of boxing that had seen fans flock over to UFC, mixed martial arts and their no-holds barred approach to fighting compared to its ring counterparts. But while the UFC has had its own history of going from a troubled past into the success it is now, no combat sport can lay claim to the deep history, worldwide reputation and cross-generational appeal of the sweet science. And in one instance, boxing has also responded to the challenge of winning over a new generation of fight fans.
The emerging social platform Triller has certainly made waves in the past year: from temporarily overtaking TikTok on the Apple App Store when the past occupants of the White House threatened to kick out its parent from the U.S., to acquiring ownership of the Internet-breaking music franchise that's more than made up for the absence of live concerts in this pandemic, VERZUZ.
Last December, its parent entertainment company Proxima Media collaborated with Snoop Dogg to create its entry into the world of fight sports known as Triller Fight Club. Starting with the return of legends Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. into the ring, it aims to build on what Premier Boxing Champions invented when it burst onto the scene of bringing an element of entertainment into boxing along the lines of the WWE and the UFC.
While it stays true to not turning the sport on its head when it comes to the matches themselves, Fight Club also aims to bring a younger audience into boxing by bringing different forms of entertainment into the evening's activities. Those include musical performances taking place in between fights, and bringing a staple of Monday Night Football's early years of having celebrity guests in the broadcast booth as the telecasts are being streamed on the Triller app and FITE network in addition to traditional pay-per-view on cable & satellite. And of course, Snoop is at the heart of it.
Jake Paul has gotten plenty of buzz in the course of the past several years thanks to not just being Logan's brother, but also forging his own identity in the world of YouTube and social influencers. Whenever he's posted a video on the former, like it has been for his fellow sibling it becomes unmissable viewing as he's made his way into becoming a power player in the online community... from his Vegas wedding night with YouTube icon Tana Mongeau, to his many risky stunts or the frequent controversy that follows him, there's no question that Jake has made quite a name for himself as the most prominent YouTuber to cross over into the mainstream discussion along with his older brother.
And in the past year, Jake has no doubt felt more of the heat: there was the fracas he and former One Direction member Zayn Malik had in Vegas last year, the big house party he threw in his Calabasas home that totally disregarded the COVID madness that was going on outside his windows, him and his buddies going inside a Scottsdale, AZ mall during last year's civil unrest following the George Floyd protests, and the sexual assault allegations that were brought up by TikTok'er Justine Paradise earlier this month... one that he denies any wrongdoing.
But the thought of Jake Paul becoming a boxing star was something that wasn't even in the planning for his world takeover when he formed Team 10 in 2017 -- the predecessor to the now everywhere trend of TikTok supergroups and the many Hype Houses that they call home. After the much hyped two-fight series between Logan and British YouTuber KSI a couple years ago, there was not a hint that the younger brother would become the bigger figure in the Paul brothers' plans to try their hand in the world of combat sports.
Jake fought KSI's younger brother Deji in the featured undercard bout of the first fight between their siblings in Manchester in August 2019, where a flurry of unanswered punches was enough for Deji's corner to throw in the white surrender towel as Jake scored the 5th round TKO win. That winter, he would turn pro in taking on fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib during Super Bowl weekend in Miami last year, also a co-feature to a fight between Demetrius Andrade and Luke Keller... and Jake had a short night taking TKO win with roughly :45 left in round 1.
When the total pandemic-caused sporting shutdown occurred just weeks later, Jake's second pro bout was pushed back to November, and still he would not even be the night's marquee attraction by a mile. On the aforementioned Tyson-Jones fight card on Saturday of the Thanksgiving weekend, the biggest fight outside of the heavyweight battle at the Staples Center pitted Jake against three-time NBA slam dunk champion Nate Robinson. And the bout between the basketball star and the YouTuber ended just like the first two fights: a stoppage victory for Jake with a big KO halfway through the 2nd round.
And during the Christmas week -- and after many jabs were taken on social media, Jake announced the opponent for his third professional fight, and one who represented on paper to be his first real competition from a fighter with previous experience in combat sports, and one who had a decorated career as one of collegiate wrestling's most dominant wrestlers.
As a junior and senior, he notched an undefeated 87-0 record in his last two years in Columbia en route to back to back national titles at the 174-lb weight class. And along with his afro hair, what made Askren different was boasting an unorthodox technique of scrambling and an ability to pin his opponent which led to 91 of his 158 college wins ending in that manner. Upon his graduation, he would win the U.S. national title and earned his way onto the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, but his bid for Olympic gold in Beijing ended at the hands of Cuba's Ivan Fundora in the quarterfinals at the 74 kg freestyle class.
Shortly after, mixed martial arts would come to the door for Ben, as he entered the ViacomCBS-owned promotion Bellator and its then distinctive format of tournament-based competition. In his first MMA fight, in the Season 2 welterweight bracket in 2010, he defeated Ryan Thomas by a controversial technical submission, but after a competitor pulled out due to injury Askren and Thomas faced off again later in the season with the Olympian taking a second win by wrestling his way in a decisive points decision... and he would go on to decision Dan Hoernbuckle to claim the welterweight title, which he would defend several times before he departed Bellator at the end of the 2013 season.
Soon after Dan signed with Asia's leading MMA promotion, the ONE Championship, as he continued his fight winning streak with an arm-triangle choke of Bakhtiyar Abbbasov in May 2013. He then called out welterweight champ Nobutatsu Suzuki -- for which he then knocked him out later that summer to take his title belt. And after a no-contest in his next bout he defended his championship several more times against the top competitors from around the world until his last fight with ONE against veteran Shinya Aoki in November 2017, also winning via an early stoppage.
Though he had stated that his fight with Aoki would be his last, the big boys would be next for Dan to take his talents to: a rare trade among MMA promotions saw him head to the UFC, and in turn brought former flyweight titlist Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson to ONE. Askren made his Octagon debut against former welterweight champ Robbie Lawler at UFC 235 in March 2019 that saw the newcomer win via bulldog choke, but whose stoppage by referee Herb Dean was questioned. But his UFC gamble proved unsuccessful: losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia saw Ben retire for good from MMA.
In the wave of opponents on Jake Paul's shopping list, there are certainly plenty of them... but after relative cakewalks with this first two opponents, Ben Askren must've been at the top of the list to really give the YouTube a first real challenge against someone who's been inside the stage of a combat sports arena compared to his first few opponents. The two traded barbs on social media after after Paul's knockout of the slam dunk champ and even before the announcement of their fight during Christmas week last year.
The leadup to every major fight in boxing, UFC and other professional combat sports sees plenty take place, from the buzz of the press conferences that bring the fighters in touch with the media, to the hoopla of fight week itself with the public weigh-in's the day before the combatants touch gloves prior to the opening bell. In the case of fight week for Paul vs. Askren, the YouTuber introduced everyone to his new mascot, the "Problem Bot" -- a takeoff on the nickname of the new fighter, "The Problem Child," for which a documentary on the rise of Jake the Boxer dropped also in the run-up to last Saturday.
Before they arrive in the host city, the competitors get several weeks to get in tip-top shape for that one night, often taking them into higher elevations to get used to the stamina needed to go through a 12-round fight in the ring or a 5-rounder for a UFC title belt. And sometimes, you would need to take a break from the grind to just relax and do something you love: it's here that we find one who joined with the rest of the MMA crowd to pull for Ben on what was a rather interesting night last weekend.
One person who spent time in the host city of the Paul/Askren fight was one who got to play the role of a rookie cop on one of the many series created by super producer Tyler Perry. After he won Battle of the Exes 2 six years ago, Jordan Wiseley was cast in the role of Eddie on If Loving You is Wrong, which like other series produced by Tyler is filmed in the producer's hometown of Atlanta.. and yes, the OWN drama also brought to its attention his deformed hand which, in his opening storyline, had it being shot away in an accident. His gig on that drama was placed smack dab in the midst of his two regular stints on The Challenge, which saw him win Dirty 30 and War of the Worlds 2 including that since broken-off engagement with Tori Deal on the elimination floor.
When Jordan made his MTV debut on The Real World Portland eight years ago, it was how he acted that might've turned off some people before he shut down those doubters in taking that trio of Challenge title rings. But in addition to the drama he got himself into there in Oregon, he also got to enjoy a place that loves getting to do things outdoors: snowboarding in the midst of summer, his favorite activity of wakeboarding right there on the water, the city's absolute love affair with going biking, and a unique take on a timeless sport.
Disc golf sees it mix dog's favorite game of catch in frisbee with elements of another summer tradition of a day on the course with a bag of clubs. It currently ranks as one of America's fastest-growing sports, where players try to navigate their way through trees, obstacles and the like en route to completing the holes in the least number of strokes -- but with discs instead of small white balls. Its exposure on YouTube has no doubt helped to bring disc golf to new heights, and it was one of the many sports that cable sports networks gave airtime to during last year's shutdown.
Jordan tried out disc golf during that Real World season the Northwest, and he must've felt like he found an instant friend in this world. Considering his wrestling background, it would be a big surprise to many that Ben Askren would have disc golf as his second favorite sport: he competed in this game as an amateur in and around his dominance on the mat and after he transitioned to MMA, even just missing out on winning the U.S. Amateur Disc Golf Championship in 2011... and if not for his wrestling career then Ben would've been the world's top disc golf player and yet he wouldn't have as much media exposure as he's had as a MMA fighter due to the emerging game's relatively niche audience.
Jordan joined Ben and his friends for a day at a local L.A. disc golf course back in mid-March during the midst of fight training and while most Americans were dusting off their NCAA tournament brackets after the two-year layoff. The Challenge champ captioned on Instagram, "Since @loganpaul didn't want any smoke on the wrestling mat @benaskren gone have to give it to brother @jakepaul 🥊 Great throwing yesterday with the boys!"
Jordan, along with the rest of Challenge Nation, got to root for either Ben or Jake from home as their attention was fixated on Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium as it hosted the first installment of Triller Fight Club. Also joining in on this inaugural extravaganza was a fight crowd of 100 fans who won their Willy Wonka chocolate factory tickets by way of promotions on Triller -- so were Mario Lopez and Jaleel White - aka Steve Urkel.
To fulfill the ambitions of TFC being part boxing and part Super Bowl as far as the entertainment goes, the ladder gave this year's halftime act The Weeknd a run for his money. Along with being in the broadcast booth for the fight with Pete Davidson and Oscar De La Hoya, Snoop joined with Ice Cube, Too $hort and E-40 for a West Coast hip-hop supergroup called Mt. Westmore that headlined the night's musical entertainment, being joined by The Black Keys, Diplo, Doja Cat, Saweetie, Major Lazer and Justin Bieber.
Before sitting ringside to watch her ex, Julia served as part of the corner crew for a combatant on the Paul/Askren undercard, British entrepreneur turned unbeaten fighter Joe Fournier, when he faced reggaeton sensation Reykon after angering the Latino community in making a derogatory reference to kidnappings of fellow Colombians during the pre-fight media tour, and backed that up with taking down the music star after two rounds... and Joe has already stated his ambitions to take on Jake next.
When asked about how she can handle watching her ex in the ring Rose told US Weekly, "I don't think it's going to be awkward. I think at this point we should be able to coexist. Jake's a businessman so I think, if anything, he'll be able to respect this. For me, I can't speak for Joe’s motives and I can't speak for the press' motives, but what I can say for myself is that this is a huge business opportunity for me."
And after a card that also included Bellator's Frank Mir getting decisioned by American heavyweight Steve Cunningham and 140 lb. Regis Prograis winning a controversial fight against a Ukrainian, at 12:30AM Eastern time the main event finally arrived. And with a top-10 all time PPV audience of as much as 1.6 million homes (and with its $50.00 price tag, making a cool $65,000,000 for the new money man), it was all over in a matter of only 1:59.
The ringside view of Jake Paul's TKO. @ESPNRingside pic.twitter.com/YgasSH1Br4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 18, 2021
Whether or not the knockout was legitimate, it's still up in the air though Ben went onto the talk show of MMA insider Ariel Helwani and take it upon himself that he was knocked out not on purpose. But Jake's KO victory was the big sports story on the American side of the sporting weekend that, less than 24 hours later, would be overtaken by the Fyre Festival of global football known as the European Super League. The victory now brings into motion who is next for Jake to fight, just as brother Logan and Floyd have just carded a date in June for their battle in the ring... and we know who in Challenge Nation will be pulling for the 50-0 Money Man after he invited Kailah Casillas to his 40th birthday party.
After getting to watch that fight, the champ joined US Weekly's Emily Longretta and the man behind this OG's effort, Mark Long, on the tabloid's MTV Challenge podcast about how the sweet science has been an important element to his life's journey that's now spanned 41 years where, as he told the hosts, "Boxing is like riding a bike to me. All I gotta do is give me like two, three months and I'll be ready to go." And Darrell is not a fan of how Jake is giving his sport a bad rap, and he added, "Fight someone with real boxing experience next and I guarantee it won't be a first round knock out. He's not gonna knock me out like these other cats. Give these people a show. MTV vs YOUTUBE. Give the fans what they want! A real boxing match."
And should Darrell vs. Jake become a reality, it wouldn't be just a Challenger vs. one of the biggest vloggers out there: it would be reality TV vs. the Internet, and MTV facing YouTube which, as the Godfather and would-be cornerman brought up, "In my mind, wearing the promoter's hat, why not take the two biggest pop culture icons ever — MTV vs. YouTube? Each platform has millions and millions of loyal fans. Let’s make this thing as a thing. You wouldn’t even have to hype this."
For now, the hope that the first four-time champ in the history of the fifth major pro sport and one-half of the biggest brother tandem in all of the internet go toe-to-toe is only a pipe dream... one that's had Challenge Nation buzzing outside of this week's Double Agents finale and week 4 of All-Stars. But we do know one thing in the space of the past 7 days: Jake Paul has become a household name beyond those who have rolled with the one-time Disney star since the beginning. His knockout of Ben Askren brought his stock further up the charts and whose staying power has a good chance to last longer than the GameStop stock craze. Now if he does indeed get in the ring with Darrell, it would be $50 well spent - just as the ticket has been to see him, Mark and the OG's compete once again.
- I AM DC
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