Ben Askren claims Dillon Danis was “scared” of fighting Jake Paul

With mixed martial artist Ben Askren officially stepping foot into the ring against YouTube celebrity Jake Paul on April 17, the former UFC star has revealed some new information about the origins of the match and how Dillon Danis seems to have ducked the confrontation.

Jake Paul vs Ben Askren was officially announced on January 26, with Paul revealing his next boxing opponent on Twitter via a slick poster.

The two had been engaged in social media shenanigans for some time, and after weeks of back-and-forth, Askren officially accepted the challenge on December 22 – and now, the contract is signed.

While that may be all well and good, Ben wasn’t even who Jake originally wanted to match up against, according to Askren.

During an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Ben delved into how Dillon Danis didn’t want to take the fight. (Segment starts at 3:08)

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“Dillon Danis is actually afraid of Jake Paul!” he revealed after claiming that Jake really wanted to fight him. “Legitimately, I’m not messing with you.”

While the conversation shifted, the two returned to the topic of Danis a bit later on. (Segment starts at 28:43)

“Dude, Dillon is such a little… can you believe how much of a little bitch this guy is?” Askren laughed. “And how he wants to act like he wanted the fight? I mean listen, Ariel, I will give you this: I don’t want to crap on myself. I was number two. I was not in the driver’s seat. It was Dillon Danis.”

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“Dillon Danis is actually scared of a YouTube star! That’s so embarrassing!” the former UFC fighter added.

Danis has, however, denied claims that he’s too chicken to take on a YouTube boxer. On Twitter, Danis shared DMs sent by Jake ,and how he would have preferred a June bout. He also called an offer the YouTuber’s manager sent “pure dog shit.”

As for Askren’s own match against Jake Paul, the former Bellator Welterweight Championship revealed he predicts that he will win by TKO in the seventh round, citing his lack of power as the only reason it will go so deep.

“It’s going to take me some time to beat him down and make him hate his life,” he chuckled.

We’ll have to see if the prediction comes true when the two face off on April 17.