He absolutely is. He is a phenomenal folkstyle wrestler with amazing scrambling ability. Guys like Yoel are not great on the mat, just great on the feet. Freestyle is more limited as opposed to folkstyle where you could find yourself ina variety of different positions and top control, getting off bottom and just overall grappling is just better in folkstyle.
folkstyle is superior for mma grappling overall. And as an overall wrestler. Askren hlabsplutely is the best wrestler in mma
True. Funk wrestling doesn't translate well to free.</p>
Here's Askren vs. world silver medalist Jake Herbert in a folk exhibition match (Askren had already switched to MMA).
<a href="https://www.flowrestling.org/video/5246736-ben-askren-vs-jake-herbert-midlands-super-match">https://www.flowrestling.org/video/5246736-ben-askren-vs-jake-herbert-midlands-super-match</a>
Askren wins by six points.</p>
Folkstyle is the best for mma because of the focus on control while on the mat instead of just hugging and trying to roll your opponent on freestyle. As well needing to escape back to your feet instead of stall out in freestyle. Askrens style even within folk was even more focused on the mat portion and he is known for his scrambling. His style is the best for mma
Covington, Lawler, Khabib, Ferguson to name a few.
You know nothing of wrestling if you think these guys can outwrestle Ben. That’s laughable. Ferguson gets taken down all the time, Lawler is sprawl and brawl type guy with a solid high school wrestling base, Khabib is good on top but he has bad setups and relies on pressure to get most takedowns, Khabib is not taking askren down, and Covington is a good wrestler but no where near bens level.
I think he is worth the hype but now time to back it up. Many great wrestlers at the top of the food chain.
Covington, Lawler, Khabib, Ferguson to name a few.
You know nothing of wrestling if you think these guys can outwrestle Ben. That’s laughable. Ferguson gets taken down all the time, Lawler is sprawl and brawl type guy with a solid high school wrestling base, Khabib is good on top but he has bad setups and relies on pressure to get most takedowns, Khabib is not taking askren down, and Covington is a good wrestler but no where near bens level.
Agreed. Silly to think any of those guys would outwrestle him. Just downright silly I say!
He couldn't even take down Luis Santos. Rewatch that fight and tell me Askren is anything but a b level fighter. He is going to get dominated in the UFC
He couldn't even take down Luis Santos. Rewatch that fight and tell me Askren is anything but a b level fighter. He is going to get dominated in the UFC
This! King of cans. Don't agree with Dana too often, but on this I do. He always said that he Askren would have to prove himself against some credible opponents before getting in to the UFC. Now it simply happened because it was an opportunity to get rid of a dissatisfied Demi Johnson.
He couldn't even take down Luis Santos. Rewatch that fight and tell me Askren is anything but a b level fighter. He is going to get dominated in the UFC
Here's a crappy video someone posted of the fight. It ended up No Contest after Ben eye-poked Santos. A rematch fell through when Santos missed weight.
wiggum - The most accomplished wrestlers in MMA are Romero, Pico, Cormier, Askren, and Makhov.
There are other people - like GSP and Jon Jones - who have adapted their wrestling skills into MMA with remarkable skill.
But, objectively, the best pure wrestlers in MMA are Romero, Pico, Cormier, Askren, and Makhov and there is no point in arguing about this.
An Olympic gold medalist and current UFC champ like Cujudo is less accompished than Pico and Askren? Learn about wrestling and your opinion will be welcomed on this thread.
Khabib has beaten the best in his division, Askren’s best win was against a shot Aoki who is a featherweight. Askren is entirely unproven in the big leagues. Potential, sure, but to state he is the best wrestler in MMA is absurd.
Khabib has beaten the best in his division, Askren’s best win was against a shot Aoki who is a featherweight. Askren is entirely unproven in the big leagues. Potential, sure, but to state he is the best wrestler in MMA is absurd.
<span class="User-170554" id="userPost63283317">Askren's best win is Douglas Lima.</span></blockquote>
Dan Hornbuckle was a high quality win at the time. Koreshkov and Lyman Good as well. Hieron on a 10 fight win streak.
I haven’t seen Yoel use wrestling in mma as well as Askren has imo.
And its it’s not just wrestling thats used in mma, hence the name mma. Askren has a unique style of grappling that has some nasty wrestling for scrambles and painful control along with bjj defense with a little sub offense and ground and pound to round out his grappling style. It’s a sick style for mma.
Khabibs grappling style is also one of the best blends for mma. Always attacking and his heavy use of both strikes and submissions doesn’t cost him much in control either.
That will be a great fight to watch.
Yoel really hasnt had to put on his full array of wrestling skill very often in mma. He fights to knock people out 1st and foremost whereas Askren wrestlepounds people so his wrestling will always be on full display in all his fights.
wiggum - The most accomplished wrestlers in MMA are Romero, Pico, Cormier, Askren, and Makhov.
There are other people - like GSP and Jon Jones - who have adapted their wrestling skills into MMA with remarkable skill.
But, objectively, the best pure wrestlers in MMA are Romero, Pico, Cormier, Askren, and Makhov and there is no point in arguing about this.
An Olympic gold medalist and current UFC champ like Cujudo is less accompished than Pico and Askren? Learn about wrestling and your opinion will be welcomed on this thread.
Forgot about Cejudo. Everything else stands.
Now, if we are going to count clear mistakes as a sign of each other’s wrestling knowledge, I will note that no person named Cujudo ever won an Olympic gold medal or UFC title. But, alas, I am not a troll.
International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles:
2010 Cerro Pelado International Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist
2010 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
2009 Hargobind International Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
2009 Sunkist Kids International Open Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist
2008 Kiev International Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
2007 NYAC Holiday International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
2007 Hargobind International Tournament Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
2005 Pan American Championships Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
USA Wrestling:
USA Senior Freestyle Olympic Team Trials Winner (2008)
USA Junior Freestyle World Team Trials Winner (2004)
USA Senior Freestyle National Championship (2008)
USA University Freestyle National Championship Runner-up (2005)
ASICS Tiger High School All-American (2002)
West Junior Freestyle Regional Championship (2002)
Northern Plains Junior Freestyle Regional Championship (2001, 2002)
Northern Plains Junior Freestyle Regional Championship Runner-up (2000)
National Collegiate Athletic Association:
NCAA Division I Collegiate National Championship (2006, 2007)
NCAA Division I Collegiate National Championship Runner-up (2004, 2005)
NCAA Division I All-American (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Big 12 Conference Championship (2004, 2006, 2007)
Big 12 Conference Championship Runner-up (2005)
Dan Hodge Trophy Collegiate Wrestler of the Year (2006, 2007)
University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame (2012)
National Wrestling Coaches Association:
Schalles Award Top Collegiate Pinner of the Year (2006, 2007)
National High School Coaches Association:
NHSCA Senior High School National Championship Runner-up (2002)
NHSCA Senior All-American (2002)
Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association:
WIAA Division I High School State Championship (2000, 2001)
WIAA Division I High School State Championship Runner-up (1999)
WIAA Division I All-State (1999, 2000, 2001)
Classic 8 Conference Championship (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)</blockquote><p>Cormier was an Olympian and got out wrestles by Jones who didn’t have a fraction of his accolades</p><p>Romero got out wrestled by Brunson who doesn’t have the same credentials. </p>
Americans consider domestic university sports to be the highest level of athletic competition but this hype is ridiculous. Yoel Romero for example holds six Olympic and world championship medals. Askren competed in one Olympics, where he was 1-1.
I agree that MMA wrestling is different from sport wrestling. While GSP never competed in wrestling, he put wrestled US school champs like Trigg, Hughes and Fitch in the Cage. Askren taking down some Cambodian kids in MMA who never even training in wrestling before only qualifies him as the best wrestler in MMA in south-east Asia.
A lot of athletes who have competed in both the olympics and the ncaa championship say the NCAAs are more difficult. Askerns style didn’t translate to freestyle as well as it worked in folkstyle.
Plus look at the number of college wrestlers to the number of wrestlers on the world senior level. Just because the Olympics involve the whole world doesn’t mean that Yoel is better than Ben at wrestling. If they wrestled freestyle Yoel would win but if they wrestled folkstyle there’s a good chance that Askern would win.
The fact of the matter is we have absolutely no idea how good Askrens wrestling is in MMA. Hes been a can crusher for years. The good thing is we'll find out.