(1) He can take down and outgrapple strikers with good takedown defense: See Lima and Lawler fights. (Regardless of what you think of the finish, he took Robbie down and was outgrappling him until the end).
(2) While he has done better on the ground against Maia than most people (Jake Shields is the notable exception), he is not a good enough grappler to survive on the ground against an all-time great BJJ specialist.
(3) His style is predictable. Masvidal exploited this beautifully.
(4) People cannot seem to be fair-minded regarding Askren. Falling victim to a brilliantly timed flying knee doesn’t mean you suck. Having Herb Dean stop a fight you were winning early isn’t your fault. And being out submission-grappled by the sport’s best submission grappler just means that you aren’t Damien Maia. This doesn’t mean Askren is a world beater. It just means that we still don’t know how good he is or isn’t.
What we don’t know:
Nothing about the Masvidal or Maia fights let us know how he will do against every other fighter. Nobody else will be a threat to him from bottom. It’s unlikely the flying knee works again. He might win, he might lose. But, the guy has been must-see TV. Every fight has been worth watching. I hope we get to see him fight more.
good post..besides his fan boys who do him no help I always been a fan and I thought his funk of wrestling would trasform well into MMA..UFC competition a huge step up to what he was doing.That said i hope he continues..Maia was a terrible matchup for him ..His standup i gotta say is among the worst Ive ever seen in UFC but takedowns are among the best Ive seen..No head movement and if u can nullify his takedown hes getting his face punched in ,Maia standup is also not great but well above Bens He took his losses in stride and give him props for facing tough fighters But he needs to re tool his game especially standup
(1) He can take down and outgrapple strikers with good takedown defense: See Lima and Lawler fights. (Regardless of what you think of the finish, he took Robbie down and was outgrappling him until the end).
(2) While he has done better on the ground against Maia than most people (Jake Shields is the notable exception), he is not a good enough grappler to survive on the ground against an all-time great BJJ specialist.
(3) His style is predictable. Masvidal exploited this beautifully.
(4) People cannot seem to be fair-minded regarding Askren. Falling victim to a brilliantly timed flying knee doesn’t mean you suck. Having Herb Dean stop a fight you were winning early isn’t your fault. And being out submission-grappled by the sport’s best submission grappler just means that you aren’t Damien Maia. This doesn’t mean Askren is a world beater. It just means that we still don’t know how good he is or isn’t.
What we don’t know:
Nothing about the Masvidal or Maia fights let us know how he will do against every other fighter. Nobody else will be a threat to him from bottom. It’s unlikely the flying knee works again. He might win, he might lose. But, the guy has been must-see TV. Every fight has been worth watching. I hope we get to see him fight more.
Winston Wolf - good post..besides his fan boys who do him no help I always been a fan and I thought his funk of wrestling would trasform well into MMA..UFC competition a huge step up to what he was doing.That said i hope he continues..Maia was a terrible matchup for him ..His standup i gotta say is among the worst Ive ever seen in UFC but takedowns are among the best Ive seen..No head movement and if u can nullify his takedown hes getting his face punched in ,Maia standup is also not great but well above Bens He took his losses in stride and give him props for facing tough fighters But he needs to re tool his game especially standup
(1) He can take down and outgrapple strikers with good takedown defense: See Lima and Lawler fights. (Regardless of what you think of the finish, he took Robbie down and was outgrappling him until the end).
(2) While he has done better on the ground against Maia than most people (Jake Shields is the notable exception), he is not a good enough grappler to survive on the ground against an all-time great BJJ specialist.
(3) His style is predictable. Masvidal exploited this beautifully.
(4) People cannot seem to be fair-minded regarding Askren. Falling victim to a brilliantly timed flying knee doesn’t mean you suck. Having Herb Dean stop a fight you were winning early isn’t your fault. And being out submission-grappled by the sport’s best submission grappler just means that you aren’t Damien Maia. This doesn’t mean Askren is a world beater. It just means that we still don’t know how good he is or isn’t.
What we don’t know:
Nothing about the Masvidal or Maia fights let us know how he will do against every other fighter. Nobody else will be a threat to him from bottom. It’s unlikely the flying knee works again. He might win, he might lose. But, the guy has been must-see TV. Every fight has been worth watching. I hope we get to see him fight more.
OP - he was undefeated and has lost 2. He barely survived Lawler. He is a doorstop. Please move on. He doesn't have good enough MMA to survive REAL competition.Â
OP - he was undefeated and has lost 2. He barely survived Lawler. He is a doorstop. Please move on. He doesn't have good enough MMA to survive REAL competition.
He beat Douglas Lima. And he beat Robbie Lawler. Seems like he has good enough MMA to survive real competition.
Winston Wolf - good post..besides his fan boys who do him no help I always been a fan and I thought his funk of wrestling would trasform well into MMA..UFC competition a huge step up to what he was doing.That said i hope he continues..Maia was a terrible matchup for him ..His standup i gotta say is among the worst Ive ever seen in UFC but takedowns are among the best Ive seen..No head movement and if u can nullify his takedown hes getting his face punched in ,Maia standup is also not great but well above Bens He took his losses in stride and give him props for facing tough fighters But he needs to re tool his game especially standup
100%.
Maia was always going to be a unique challenge. It was clear that Askren did not want to use leg attacks as his primary weapon because of the threat Maia posed on the ground. That won’t be the case with other fighters.
Agreed 100% with EKPOGI about Shields. Also, I think Luke Thomas pointed this out, Maia made a great adjustment since the Shields fight by relying so heavily on butterflies to prevent being pinned.
Absolutely amazing that Maia swept Ben and that Ben swept Maia from mount.
Ben looked much better physically going into the Masvidal fight. He looked fat for this one and he gassed. I'm not really sure how that happens but it's a bad look.Â
OP - he was undefeated and has lost 2. He barely survived Lawler. He is a doorstop. Please move on. He doesn't have good enough MMA to survive REAL competition.
He beat Douglas Lima. And he beat Robbie Lawler. Seems like he has good enough MMA to survive real competition.
Sure, he beat Lima and Koreshkov years ago…he pretty much dominated them both and these were impressive wins, I give him that
But…
I guarantee if Askren rematches these guys, he’d likely lose both fights…Lima would absolutely eat him alive standing but even if Ben took him down, he’s not finishing him…
Askrens UFC career has been fucking dreadful…he came in with a ton of hype and an impressive u defeated record…he was calling everyone out and no one was willing to fight him…I admit I believed in the hype a bit and I wanted him to come in and dominate using his funky wrestling but didn’t happen…I like Askren but he’s a complete bust in the UFC…at this point, is there any reason to give him more fights? Not really
I didn't see the fight yet, but sounds like he got tapped out. Yep, he's not the elite fighting enigma we thought he might be. He's not the guy that looks like shit and strikes like shit, but somehow can magically beat high level competition with his "funky" wrestling. I was kind of hoping he was, it would have been a fun thing for MMA. He's good enough to catch someone once in a while though, like he did Robbie, but that doesn't really warrant a top spot.
He’s still good and a likable dude, but his schtick put him behind the 8-Ball from the get go. You come into UFC and get murderers row of matchups because you talked too much shit about Dana, lol. They won’t build someone like that, they’d rather build an up and comer who does what he’s told and stays quiet.
(1) He can take down and outgrapple strikers with good takedown defense: See Lima and Lawler fights. (Regardless of what you think of the finish, he took Robbie down and was outgrappling him until the end).
(2) While he has done better on the ground against Maia than most people (Jake Shields is the notable exception), he is not a good enough grappler to survive on the ground against an all-time great BJJ specialist.
(3) His style is predictable. Masvidal exploited this beautifully.
(4) People cannot seem to be fair-minded regarding Askren. Falling victim to a brilliantly timed flying knee doesn’t mean you suck. Having Herb Dean stop a fight you were winning early isn’t your fault. And being out submission-grappled by the sport’s best submission grappler just means that you aren’t Damien Maia. This doesn’t mean Askren is a world beater. It just means that we still don’t know how good he is or isn’t.
What we don’t know:
Nothing about the Masvidal or Maia fights let us know how he will do against every other fighter. Nobody else will be a threat to him from bottom. It’s unlikely the flying knee works again. He might win, he might lose. But, the guy has been must-see TV. Every fight has been worth watching. I hope we get to see him fight more.
I think his fights are exciting. I believe part of it is exactly because he is largely one dimensional. The problem with two well rounded evenly matched fighters is we get a match that looks like a sparing session at the gym. It goes to a 5 round decision and neither fighter has taken any damage.
(1) He can take down and outgrapple strikers with good takedown defense: See Lima and Lawler fights. (Regardless of what you think of the finish, he took Robbie down and was outgrappling him until the end).
(2) While he has done better on the ground against Maia than most people (Jake Shields is the notable exception), he is not a good enough grappler to survive on the ground against an all-time great BJJ specialist.
(3) His style is predictable. Masvidal exploited this beautifully.
(4) People cannot seem to be fair-minded regarding Askren. Falling victim to a brilliantly timed flying knee doesn’t mean you suck. Having Herb Dean stop a fight you were winning early isn’t your fault. And being out submission-grappled by the sport’s best submission grappler just means that you aren’t Damien Maia. This doesn’t mean Askren is a world beater. It just means that we still don’t know how good he is or isn’t.
What we don’t know:
Nothing about the Masvidal or Maia fights let us know how he will do against every other fighter. Nobody else will be a threat to him from bottom. It’s unlikely the flying knee works again. He might win, he might lose. But, the guy has been must-see TV. Every fight has been worth watching. I hope we get to see him fight more.