Jorge Masvidal has explained the deep thought process behind his record-breaking flying knee knockout win over Ben Askren.
‘Gamebred’ became a certified superstar when he landed the perfect shot to knock out Askren just five seconds into their fight at UFC 239 in July 2019.
The fastest KO in UFC history goes viral every time Masvidal is booked to fight and will do so again ahead of his clash with Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 on April 8.
Behind-the-scenes footage showed that Masvidal was working on opening the fight with a flying knee and the man himself has now explained why he was convinced the high-risk move would work.
He said on The Joe Rogan Experience: “On Twitter, I saw that he was witty. You know, he was constantly writing s***, he’s a dork and a nerd but he’s got a bit of wit behind a computer screen.
"Every single time that it was unscripted, improvised, he'd short-circuit, couldn't f****** keep it together.
"So, I was like, 'I not only need to run at him, but I need to have a change of speed because that's gonna make him go into his natural crotch-sniffing instincts. If I just change the speed on him, he's gonna f****** duck.'"
"That's why I came out slow, cut the little angle, and let him be like, 'Okay, we're gonna circle it up.' Soon as I change speed, what does he do? Goes to his initial instincts, he's a f****** crotch sniffer, go kiss the crotch.
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"When I'm doing it the night before, I'm like, 95 per cent certain [it will land], because of the way he'd been acting all week. Like, all I got to do at any given moment is just get this guy uncomfortable.
"Go from like chill to invade his space whether it was the opening bell or in the second round or midway through the third. I just knew I had to invade his space and he's gonna go to his natural instincts.
"I know I keep saying it, but I just knew, the way he’d freeze up every time we talked, the way he walked, the way he got stiff – I just knew.”
Masvidal has won just one of his four fights since beating Askren and is currently on a three-fight losing streak after twice falling short against Kamaru Usman in title fights before being outpointed by Colby Covington.
Despite that, the 38-year-old could find himself back in welterweight contention if he’s able to beat Burns next month due to his long-running rivalry with the current champion, Leon Edwards.
Masvidal clashed with ‘Rocky’ backstage at UFC London in 2019 and the Englishman has been desperate to settle the score with him in the Octagon ever since.
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