Michael Chandler: ‘Ben Askren knocks out Jake Paul, seventh round’

Michael Chandler will be aiding his fellow former Bellator champion Ben Askren in preparation for his Jake Paul boxing match — and the new UFC lightweight title contender is confident in how the contest will play out.

“I’m telling you, Ben Askren’s gonna beat Jake Paul,” Chandler told ESPN. “Listen, you can say Ben Askren’s boxing isn’t that good, and it’s not, I will agree with you on that. But when it comes to dirty boxing, under hooks, pushing, pulling, grabbing heads. I mean, you’re gonna be in there for eight rounds straight, 16-24 minutes plus a minute in between, Jake Paul will get worn down, Ben Askren won’t. Depending on the ruleset, depending on the referee, depending on how quickly they’re going to break ’em up, Ben is gonna wear on ’em, close the distance, then it’s gonna be really hard to punch Ben Askren when he’s up in your face, pulling on you, punching you to the body, punching you to the head. Albeit, they may be pitter-patter… Ben Askren knocks out Jake Paul, seventh round.”

The three-time Bellator lightweight king in Chandler just recently made a successful UFC debut at UFC 257. In doing so, he displayed his solid boxing skills by knocking out the always durable New Zealander, Dan Hooker.

The knockout for Michael Chandler marked his 10th career victory in that fashion. That just happens to be four more than Askren’s MMA career total of six. Albeit, those all came on the ground thanks to “Funky’s” dominant wrestling.

On April 17, Askren will make his pro boxing debut when he squares off with 24-year-old YouTube sensation, Jake Paul. The younger Paul brother is currently 2-0 in his boxing career after knocking out Nate Robinson and AnEsonGib. The former of which happened as recently as November a part of the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. event.