5 UFC stars who were knocked out outside MMA

#2 Former UFC welterweight contender Ben Askren

Triller Fight Club: Jake Paul v Ben Askren

Ben Askren has been on the receiving end of not one but two highly embarrassing knockouts. 'Funky' saw his promising UFC career come to a premature end after the famous flying knee from Jorge Masvidal and then a submission loss to Demain Maia, with injuries ensuring that he never fought in MMA again.

Askren got the opportunity to cash in on a hefty paycheck in April 2021, when he faced off against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. The 37-year-old came into the fight without appearing to have done any serious training and was viciously knocked out in the first round by Paul.

Jake Paul knocks out Ben Askren in the first round. pic.twitter.com/YzAF7Q7FNV

— ESPN (@espn) April 18, 2021

Askren didn't seem too bothered about his loss in the immediate aftermath of the fight but has spoken, half-jokingly, about how he has let the MMA community down. His friend and training partner Tyron Woodley takes on Paul this weekend.

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#1 UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya

UFC 263: Adesanya v Vettori 2

Israel Adesanya's only professional MMA loss came earlier this year when he lost to Jan Blachowicz in a UFC light heavyweight title bout. 'The Last Stylebender', who is an accomplished kickboxer and competed in 80 bouts, has been knocked out only once in his fighting career.

Against Alex Pereira, whom he had lost to via unanimous decision a year earlier, Adesanya was caught by a check left hook that sent him flying to the canvas. You can watch a video of the brutal, unexpected knockout here:

Pereira has often spoken about wanting to fight Adesanya again, but the UFC middleweight champion has never been interested in the same.