Ben Askren vs Jordan Burroughs May 6 MSG

Ben Askren and Jordan Burroughs have verbally agreed to wrestle at Beat the Streets NYC on May 6 at MSG. Match would be at 79kg and will be to support https://t.co/Lukcr5zbSR. They are hoping it will be signed next week. They’ve never competed against each other.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 6, 2019

JB is gonna be a bit much for Ben

Is this televised?

Jump Kick -

Is this televised?

Flowrestling 

Freestyle or folkstyle?

Ben’s a stud for even attempting this in the middle of his UFC career.

Has to be folkstyle. Please lol. Bens whole style is mat wrestling 

This is genuinely great news.

In freestyle, especially, this is a tough match up for Ben. People might point to Pendleton to explain why JB is a back matchup (good double, good position, quick finishes being the similarity). But, I think Ben figured out that ‘type’ by his Junior year.

Ben adjusted his funk style for freestyle and was a legit top 5 guy in the world. But, JB is the champ. Ben will rightly be a huge underdog.

If Ben gets tech’d, idiots might come on and think that this discredits Ben. Those people should be recognized for what they are–total morons.

Awesome stuff.

Vikingknee - 

Has to be folkstyle. Please lol. Bens whole style is mat wrestling 

He was a legit top 5 guy in the world in Freestyle. He found ways to make it work. BUT, a folkstyle match would be way more compelling.

Hey guys, sorry to be that guy, but can you explain to a guy that doesn’t know shit about the difference, why folkstyle over freestyle would benefit Ben, rules/techniques, etc…

Siciliano di Brooklyn - Hey guys, sorry to be that guy, but can you explain to a guy that doesn't know shit about the difference, why folkstyle over freestyle would benefit Ben, rules/techniques, etc...

Two issues:

First, folkstyle emphasizes mat wrestling. You are allowed to ride for long periods of time and the bottom person is required to try to escape or reverse. In freestyle, your riding time is limited and the bottom person can flatten out and ‘stall.’ Ben’s great skill was riding and turning people.

Second, in freestyle, you get points for ‘exposing’ a person’s back. You don’t have to hold them on their back. Ben’s funky style has him going to his back a lot and he risks exposure.

In spite of this, Askren was a very good freestyler. But, he’s one of the best folkstylers to ever do it, which isn’t the case for his freestyle career.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Wiggum.

Wiggum is right. Trent Paulson thinks it ought to be folkstyle too:

Pyles when you mention old rules are you referencing push outs and ball grabs? When I beat Askren 4-0, 5-0 in Cuba neither was a factor. I’m a fan of both guys. Burroughs on another level freestyle wise. Folkstyle match would be interesting.

— Trent Paulson (@TrentPaulson) April 3, 2019
wiggum - This is genuinely great news.

In freestyle, especially, this is a tough match up for Ben. People might point to Pendleton to explain why JB is a back matchup (good double, good position, quick finishes being the similarity). But, I think Ben figured out that ‘type’ by his Junior year.

Ben adjusted his funk style for freestyle and was a legit top 5 guy in the world. But, JB is the champ. Ben will rightly be a huge underdog.

If Ben gets tech’d, idiots might come on and think that this discredits Ben. Those people should be recognized for what they are–total morons.

Awesome stuff.

didn’t know Ben was a legit top5 freestyler in his weight class.if you can,anyway to explain how he adjusted his funk for freestyle?

P.s.ben isn’t a bitch and I’m sure he’ll do freestyle no problem vs Jordan.

If anything,they should have two matches,one free and folkstyle in the future

Do it

Man I hate that this is going to be on flo which is a scan company.

Wiggs, is the US the only major wrestling country that does not do freestyle from youth ages?

Also, I guess it may depend but how quickly can US guys who go onto to elite freestyle careers switch back to folkstyle? Like once they finish college, and compete in freestyle/Greco, do any of them compete in folkstyle?

wiggum - 
Siciliano di Brooklyn - Hey guys, sorry to be that guy, but can you explain to a guy that doesn't know shit about the difference, why folkstyle over freestyle would benefit Ben, rules/techniques, etc...

Two issues:

First, folkstyle emphasizes mat wrestling. You are allowed to ride for long periods of time and the bottom person is required to try to escape or reverse. In freestyle, your riding time is limited and the bottom person can flatten out and ‘stall.’ Ben’s great skill was riding and turning people.

Second, in freestyle, you get points for ‘exposing’ a person’s back. You don’t have to hold them on their back. Ben’s funky style has him going to his back a lot and he risks exposure.

In spite of this, Askren was a very good freestyler. But, he’s one of the best folkstylers to ever do it, which isn’t the case for his freestyle career.

Hope this helps.

Yeah, I had no idea what American collegiate/folkstyle was wrestling in high school in Canada but the par-terre point system always seemed silly to me. This was even before I started doing judo or before UFC/BJJ came out. I always thought par-terre was much more removed from “real” wrestling or “real fighting.” Like pinning someone - holding them on their backs with control - seemed more legit to me than simply tilting them past 90 degrees for the sake of tilting them without real positional control.

So are gut-wrenches even a thing in folkstyle? Like do quick back exposure techniques score in folkstyle?

.