Fight history
Masvidal vs. Askren, UFC 239: The Five-Second Knockout, the Stats and What Came Next
Askren had never lost as a professional. Masvidal ran across the cage at the bell, met the takedown attempt with a flying knee, and the fight was over in five seconds.
Masvidal
AskrenAt a glance
- ResultMasvidal by KO (flying knee, then two punches), round 1, 0:05; referee Jason Herzog
- The judgesNo round was completed, so no scorecard exists
- The stakesAskren's unbeaten record (19-0, one no contest) and a strong claim to a welterweight title shot
- The statsMasvidal 3 of 3 significant strikes and one knockdown; Askren threw nothing
- The recordThe fastest knockout in UFC history, a second under Duane Ludwig's UFC-recognized mark
- Our verdictA clean, planned knockout; the extra punches were legal but added nothing
Watch the fight
The UFC's own upload of the knockout, from its official YouTube channel. The fight lasted five seconds; tap to play it here.
What was at stake
Ben Askren came into UFC 239 unbeaten as a professional: 19-0 with one no contest, as CBS Sports and ABC News record, and 19-0 in the previews of Sherdog and Yahoo Sports. (Cageside Press says he won his first 18, which fits no other source, so we use 19-0.) He was a former Olympian, as UFC.com and Sherdog both note, and his previous fight had been a first-round bulldog choke win over Robbie Lawler at UFC 235, as Sherdog and the official statistics record.
Jorge Masvidal was 33-13, according to Sherdog's preview, Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports. He had lost two in a row before knocking out Darren Till in the second round in his previous fight, as Sherdog and the official statistics show. Yahoo Sports wrote that the winner could well be seen as the No. 1 contender at welterweight, and CBS Sports called the fight pivotal for the title picture.
The build-up was personal. The two had traded insults online and in person, as Yahoo Sports and Fox News both report. In June, Masvidal told CBS Sports' State of Combat podcast: "I'm going to make sure his bloodline doesn't reproduce or nothing after July 6." Bleacher Report prints the same words but credits that CBS interview, so it is one source reported twice.
The betting made Askren the favorite. Bleacher Report's odds table and MMATorch both list Askren at -220 and Masvidal at +180, and Sherdog's post-fight betting column says Masvidal closed as a +180 underdog.
The official result and the record
| Winner | Method | Round | Time | Referee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jorge Masvidal | KO (flying knee) | 1 of 3 | 0:05 | Jason Herzog |
The official statistics record a KO/TKO by "Flying Knee Head" at 0:05 of round 1; Sherdog's play-by-play, UFC.com, MMARising and Bleacher Report give the same round and time. The official statistics, Sherdog's play-by-play and CBS Sports name Jason Herzog as the referee. One Sherdog column calls him Kevin Herzog, which we take as a slip.
There are no judges' cards. The fight was stopped five seconds into a scheduled three rounds, so no round was scored.
It was the fastest knockout in UFC history, as Sherdog, theScore, Sports Illustrated and UFC.com all reported, and Guinness World Records lists it as the fastest UFC KO. It beat Duane Ludwig's knockout of Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 3 on January 16, 2006: the UFC-recognized record of about six seconds, as Sports Illustrated and theScore describe it and the official statistics list it (0:06). The athletic commission had recorded that knockout at 11 seconds; in December 2011 the UFC changed its own record books to credit Ludwig, while the commission kept its official time, as Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report both reported then. So Masvidal beat the UFC's figure by a second and the commission's by six.
The record still stands. Sherdog's list of the fastest UFC knockouts, published in December 2024, ranks it first, and neither the official statistics nor AgentMMA's record table, both running to late October 2026, has a faster UFC finish. UFC.com's UFC 261 report later called it six seconds, against the official time and UFC.com's other reports.
The win made Masvidal 34-13, as UFC.com, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports and MMARising record; Fox News has 33-13, his record going in, so we use 34-13. Askren fell to 19-1 with one no contest, as theScore, CBS Sports and UFC.com show, the first loss of his career. Masvidal took a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, Sherdog and 1News report.
The five seconds, step by step
The bell
Masvidal ran straight across the cage at the bell, as Sherdog, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and MMARising describe. Askren lowered his level for a takedown: UFC.com says he leaned over to seek one, and Sherdog says Masvidal timed his shot. The move was planned. UFC.com says Masvidal and his head coach had worked on the exact sequence, and CBS Sports reports he had planned to use the knee all week.
The knee
Masvidal jumped and landed a right knee on Askren's head as he came in, a flush flying right knee in UFC.com's words and a leaping one in CBS Sports'. Askren was out at once: UFC.com says on impact, and MMARising and Sherdog that he was unconscious before he hit the canvas.
Two punches
Masvidal followed him down with two more punches to the head, as Sherdog, Yahoo Sports, Fox News and Cageside Press all report. Sports Illustrated and 1News say "several". The official count has exactly two strikes on the ground, so we use two.
0:05 - The stoppage
Herzog was already rushing in, Sherdog writes, and CBS Sports says he dove on top of Askren to end it. Masvidal then mocked Askren on the canvas, which Sherdog describes and Fox News says drew criticism on social media. Askren was taken to hospital as a precaution, and Dana White said his tests came back negative, as Fox News and LowKick MMA both report.
What the numbers say
The official statistics for the five seconds, Masvidal first:
| Official stat | Masvidal - Askren |
|---|---|
| Knockdowns | 1 - 0 |
| Significant strikes landed | 3 - 0 |
| Significant strikes thrown | 3 - 0 |
| To the head | 3 - 0 |
| At distance | 1 - 0 |
| On the ground | 2 - 0 |
| Takedowns attempted | 0 - 0 |
| Control (seconds) | 2 - 0 |
UFC official statistics (ufcstats, via the scrape_ufc_stats mirror).
Three strikes were thrown in the whole fight and all three landed on the head: one at distance, the knee, and two on the ground, the punches. Askren threw nothing, and although every report has him dropping for a takedown, he never got far enough for an attempt to be counted.
What the numbers cannot show is the clock inside those five seconds. The official time runs to the stoppage, not to the moment the knee landed. UFC.com's Spencer Kyte argued it could fairly be called three seconds, because Askren was out as soon as the knee met his chin, and Sherdog's knockout of the year piece has him out cold with 4:57 left in the round, the same three seconds. Yahoo Sports put contact at perhaps less than two. We use about three, the figure two sources agree on, and 0:05 for the record.
How we scored it
| The question | MMA.SOCIAL | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The time | 0:05 stands | Fight time runs until the referee stops it. The knee landed at about three seconds; the rest is the referee reaching them. |
| The punches | Two | The official ground count is 2 of 2, as most reports say. |
| Were they necessary? | Legal, not needed | Askren was out from the knee, but the rules let a fighter strike until the referee steps in. |
| The referee | On time | Herzog was moving as the knee landed and was on Askren about two seconds later. |
| Result | Masvidal by KO, 0:05 | No round was completed, so there is no score to give. |
The clock is simple: every finish is timed to the stoppage, so 0:05 is the right number for the record, whichever second the knee landed in.
The punches are the real argument. "They were super necessary," Masvidal said after the fight, in words Sherdog and 1News both print, adding that "the referee hadn't pulled me off" and that his "job is to hit somebody until the referee pulls me off." He also said Askren had talked about his manhood, his culture and his ethnicity before the fight, which both outlets report in slightly different words. On the rules he is right: a fighter is expected to keep going until the referee intervenes, and two punches in about two seconds is not a late hit. On what the punches did, he is wrong. Askren was unconscious from the knee, so they changed nothing but how the clip looks.
The referee deserves less criticism than the punches drew. Askren was out about three seconds in, Herzog was already rushing in, and he was on top of Askren at five. On Askren's side, one exchange settles a fight and nothing more: it showed what happens when a wrestler shoots on a striker who is waiting for it, not who was better over three rounds.
What happened next
"I'm coming for that belt," Masvidal said, as CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports and Sherdog all print, and "You're welcome for ending that dude," in words UFC.com and Sherdog carry (CBS Sports has "You guys are welcome"). "Well that sucked," he wrote on Twitter, as LowKick MMA and BroBible both report. Days later he said: "I got nothing to complain about," and "There's a little part of my memory that's blank there." Sherdog and Fightful both print those words; Fightful credits MMA Junkie's report of the interview, so the two may not be independent. The two never fought again.
October 26, 2019 - Askren loses to Maia
At UFC Fight Night 162, Demian Maia submitted Askren with a rear-naked choke at 3:54 of the third round, as MMARising, Wrestling Inc and the official statistics record.
November 2, 2019 - Masvidal wins the BMF title
At UFC 244 Masvidal beat Nate Diaz for the "BMF" title when the doctor stopped the fight at the end of the third round, as UFC.com, CBS Sports and the official statistics show.
November 18, 2019 - Askren retires
Askren retired, saying he needed a hip replacement, at 19-2 with one no contest, as Sherdog and MMA Weekly both reported that day. An ABC News story from January 2021 says he retired "last year"; we go with the two reports from the day itself.
July 2020 - Masvidal's first title shot
Masvidal took a title fight with Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 on short notice (six days in Yahoo Sports' account, eight in ABC News') and lost a unanimous decision, 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46, as ABC News, Yahoo Sports and the official statistics record.
April 2021 - Paul stops Askren, Usman stops Masvidal
On April 17, Askren lost a boxing match to Jake Paul when the referee waved it off at 1:59 of the first round, as Fox News and USA Today report. A week later at UFC 261, Usman knocked Masvidal out at 1:02 of the second round, as UFC.com, ABC News and the official statistics show.
2022 and 2023 - Masvidal's last UFC fights
Colby Covington beat him by unanimous decision at UFC 272 on March 5, 2022 (49-46, 50-45, 50-44), as UFC.com, Sky Sports and the official statistics record. At UFC 287 on April 8, 2023, Gilbert Burns won a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28), as ABC News and the official statistics show. It was Masvidal's fourth straight loss, and he retired after the fight at 35-17, as ABC News and MMA Junkie report.
July 6, 2024 - Diaz wins the boxing rematch
Five years to the day after the Askren fight, Masvidal lost a ten-round boxing rematch to Diaz by majority decision, 95-95, 97-93 and 98-92, as theScore and CBS Sports both report.
2025 - Askren's lung transplant
Askren received a double lung transplant after severe pneumonia that left him on a ventilator, as CBS Sports and NBC News both reported in the summer of 2025.
The verdict
Masvidal vs. Askren is not a disputed result. No judge was needed, the knee was planned rather than lucky, and it ended an unbeaten record of twenty professional fights. The official 0:05 stands as the fastest knockout in UFC history. The two punches afterwards were inside the rules and added nothing the knee had not done: unnecessary, not illegal. Askren shot, Masvidal was waiting for it, and that was the fight.
Full fight stats: Masvidal vs. Askren. The rest of the night: UFC 239.
Sources
- UFCStats round-by-round statistics (scrape_ufc_stats mirror)
- UFCStats fight results, method and referee (scrape_ufc_stats mirror)
- Sherdog - UFC 239 play-by-play and results
- Sherdog - Minute by Minute: UFC 239
- Sherdog - UFC 239 bonuses
- Sherdog - 2019 Knockout of the Year
- Sherdog - UFC 239 post-mortem
- Sherdog - Masvidal after the record-setting knockout
- Sherdog - Askren on the five-second loss
- Sherdog - Preview: UFC 239, Askren vs. Masvidal
- Sherdog - Beating the Books: UFC 239
- Sherdog - Top 10 fastest knockouts in UFC history
- Sherdog - Askren announces his retirement
- UFC.com - UFC 239 results
- UFC.com - UFC 239 bonus coverage
- UFC.com - Ten best knockouts of 2019
- UFC.com - Masvidal's top five fights
- UFC.com - A decade of UFC by the numbers
- UFC.com - UFC 244 results
- UFC.com - UFC 261 results
- UFC.com - UFC 272 results
- theScore - Masvidal KOs Askren with flying knee in 5 seconds
- theScore - Maia submits Askren at UFC Fight Night 162
- theScore - Diaz beats Masvidal in boxing rematch
- Sports Illustrated - Masvidal knocks out Askren in five seconds
- CBS Sports - UFC 239 results: Masvidal and the fastest knockout
- CBS Sports - Masvidal on Askren before UFC 239
- CBS Sports - UFC 244 results
- CBS Sports - Diaz vs. Masvidal boxing results
- CBS Sports - Askren undergoes double lung transplant
- Yahoo Sports - Masvidal beats Askren with fastest knockout in UFC history
- Yahoo Sports - UFC 239 preview: Askren vs. Masvidal
- Yahoo Sports (Cagewriter) - Ludwig gets the fastest KO record from the UFC
- Yahoo Sports - UFC 251 full results
- MMA Weekly via Yahoo Sports - Askren announces his retirement
- USA Today via Yahoo Sports - Jake Paul stops Ben Askren
- MMA Junkie via Yahoo Sports - Masvidal retires after UFC 287
- Fox News - Masvidal sets the UFC record for the quickest knockout
- Fox News - Jake Paul stops Ben Askren in the first round
- Bleacher Report - UFC 239 results
- Bleacher Report - UFC 239 odds and predictions
- Bleacher Report - The war of words before UFC 239
- Bleacher Report - Ludwig recognized by the UFC for the fastest knockout (2011)
- Bleacher Report - UFC Fight Night 162 results
- Bleacher Report - Masvidal retires after losing to Burns
- ABC News (Mike Coppinger) - Masvidal announces his retirement
- ABC News (Ariel Helwani) - Jake Paul to face Ben Askren
- ABC News (Marc Raimondi) - Usman beats Masvidal at UFC 251
- ABC News (Marc Raimondi) - Usman knocks out Masvidal at UFC 261
- MMARising - UFC 239 live play-by-play and results
- MMARising - UFC Fight Night 162 live play-by-play and results
- Wrestling Inc - Askren falls to 1-2 in the UFC
- Guinness World Records - Fastest UFC KO
- MMATorch - The underdogs who won at UFC 239
- 1News - The flying knee and the fastest knockout in UFC history
- LowKick MMA - Askren reacts to the knockout loss
- BroBible - Askren's reaction to the five-second knockout
- Fightful - Askren has nothing to complain about
- Cageside Press - UFC 239 results: Masvidal and Askren
- AgentMMA - The fastest UFC knockouts
- Sky Sports - Covington beats Masvidal at UFC 272
- NBC News - Askren on his double lung transplant
Questions
Who won Masvidal vs. Askren?
Jorge Masvidal, by knockout five seconds into the first round at UFC 239 on July 6, 2019. He landed a flying knee as Ben Askren went for a takedown, then two punches before referee Jason Herzog stopped it. It was the first loss of Askren's professional career.
How long did Masvidal vs. Askren last?
Five seconds officially, the fastest knockout in UFC history. The knee itself landed at about three seconds; the official time runs to the referee's stoppage.
Is Masvidal's knockout of Askren still the fastest in UFC history?
Yes. The official statistics, which run to late October 2026, have no faster UFC finish. It beat Duane Ludwig's UFC-recognized record of about six seconds against Jonathan Goulet from 2006, a fight the athletic commission officially timed at 11 seconds.
How many punches did Masvidal throw after the knee?
Two. The official count has two landed strikes on the ground, and most reports say two. Masvidal said afterwards that the punches were "super necessary" because the referee had not yet pulled him off.
Were there scorecards for Masvidal vs. Askren?
No. The fight ended five seconds into the first of three scheduled rounds, so no round was scored. On the official count Masvidal landed 3 of 3 significant strikes and Askren threw none.
Did Masvidal and Askren ever fight again?
No. Askren lost his next fight to Demian Maia in October 2019 and retired the following month. Masvidal beat Nate Diaz for the BMF title, fought Kamaru Usman twice for the welterweight title and retired in 2023.
