Ben Askren has jokingly offered fans the chance to pay him to choke Jake Paul in their upcoming boxing match.
Former Bellator Champion and UFC fighter Askren is switching codes this weekend to take on YouTuber Jake Paul in a professional bout.
An ex-Olympic wrestler, Askren was much better known for his grappling than his striking during his MMA days.
And it seems the 36-year-old would love to be able to get Paul on the floor and back into his comfort zone as he asked fans whether they wanted to see him choke out his opponent, even jokingly offering them the chance to pay to see him do it.
“One of you guys can start a GoFundMe - how much would you give me to choke Jake Paul out with a guillotine?” he said in a light-hearted sparring session filmed by Triller.
“If the number's bigger than my purse, maybe I'll do it.”
Askren is clearly all too aware that he is coming out of his comfort zone to fight a social media influencer in what will be his biggest purse to date.
But as a season fighter, he clearly fancies his chances against Paul, hinting that he still think of him as an “amateur”.
“Boxing, obviously it’s different, but I told someone the other day that I’m really good at athletics,” Askren told MMA Fighting. “I wanted to be a really great wrestler.
“I won NCAA titles and made the Olympics. I wanted to be a good mixed martial artist. I won multiple belts in multiple organizations.
“If I want to beat up an amateur boxer, it ain’t gonna take me more than three months of training to do so.”
Askren against Paul takes place on Saturday night from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
