In retrospect, was Askren for MM a good trade?

[elwani]

I don't really follow ONE that much, but now that things have had a chance to play out a little bit, did the UFC get a good deal?

 

[sdpdude9]

Well Masvidal became a huge star solely because of the Askren fight. That alone was worth more to the UFC than Johnson.

 

[BjPenn2017]

He turned Jorge into a star with his stupidity and Usman vs Jorge alone sold more PPV’s than all MM PPV headliners combined.

I’d say it was a good deal.

 

[Atomic 187]

Well Masvidal became a huge star solely because of the Askren fight. That alone was worth more to the UFC than Johnson.

Can't disagree

 

[Baltimore Bro]

Yes. No one wanted to see that tiny man fight and no one miss him.

Speak for yourself

 

[ignorant MMA fan]

It wasn't bad.

 

[wufabufa]

Well Masvidal became a huge star solely because of the Askren fight. That alone was worth more to the UFC than Johnson.

He turned Jorge into a star with his stupidity and Usman vs Jorge alone sold more PPV’s than all MM PPV headliners combined.

I’d say it was a good deal.

 

[sampuncher]

I love MM but that Askren KO got them a 1m PPV draw in Masvidal, something MM wouldn't have ever got them unfortunately so from a business point of view I'd say they did pretty well.

 

[GolovKing]

From a business perspective yea. Not only was askren pretty popular the short time he was here, but also masvidal became a big star and the new flyweight division is more popular and exciting with guys like figueiredo and moreno even though mighty mouse is better than those guys are

 

[FIghtxIQ]

I don't really follow ONE that much, but now that things have had a chance to play out a little bit, did the UFC get a good deal?

Yes, but not in the way people expected it to be beneficial. He helped launch Masvidal's career so the trade actually helped them to create a star in the UFC, it just wasn't Askren. So overall it was a good trade because they are still using Masvidal's popularity to this day and had one of the biggest PPV's in UFC history - which probably would've never happened without the trade taking place.

 

[FR17999]

I don't know I mean we lost MM but we had Jorge and if you think about it Flyweight needed a change

 

[jx820]

It was a good deal in that MM wasn't happy fighting for the UFC, and Askren made a lot of noise promotionally. The only downside is they traded a slightly past peak super talent for far past prime Askren.

 

[sadoquera]

well....
he passed the tourch to cejudo, who defended against TJ, which brought attention to the division.
then, cejudo became a kind of a star moving up and winning the belt.
in pararalel, deiveson became a way more fun fighter to watch, and delivered 4 fights for the belt way more exciting.
regarding askren: he gave that crazy fight with lawler, transformed street jesus in a star, proportionated the best post fight interview ever ("super necessary" "what do you mean? my job is pushing people until the referee stops me"), and gave one of the most fantastic grappling fight between a pure wrestling against a pure bjj, when both fighters had no punching power.
bro......fantastic deal.

 

[ExitLUPin]

Well Masvidal became a huge star solely because of the Askren fight. That alone was worth more to the UFC than Johnson.

It wasn't solely the Askren fight. The Askren KO definitely catapulted him into superstardom but the Till KO + Leon 3 piece went viral. The Leon vid and Jorge interview after had millions of views

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Life is unfair, MM is not guilty for being so tiny, but unfortunately in the real world no one cares about such small men fighting.

Well in Asia they may care because Asians are tiny and skinny themselves, but occidental world care about big shredded men.

That's not true at all, Fig is gaining popularity in the exact same division. Plus in boxing the lower weight classes are well respected. Only mma fanbases call the fighters that can beat them up manlets.

 

[Jose Beehive]

I would love to see Mighty Mouse back for the Rubber Match with Cejudo... Get Horiguchi back and that division goes from being great to fucking incredible imo.

Mighty Mouse
Cejudo
Figgy
Moreno
Horiguchi
Joe B
Askarov
Perez
Pantoja
Royval
Dvorak
Su Madjeri
Kape

 

[green giant]

Yes. No one wanted to see that tiny man fight and no one miss him.

That tiny man could beat up 99.9% of the world including you. Its not his fault you have an superiority complex.

 

[kwijyboy]

 

[A.S. Deep]

I don't really follow ONE that much, but now that things have had a chance to play out a little bit, did the UFC get a good deal?

Entertainment-wise? YES!

Merit-wise? Nah.

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Yes. MM was already proven to not be a draw and he was also not going away from the title picture any time soon so for the business (and yes the UFC is a business, not a legitimate sport), it was worth it just to get rid of him. The division has moved on and FW doesn't have a fraction of the stigma it had previously.

Askren himself may not have panned out but it was worth the shot and he also helped make a star in Masvidal. Askren is also much more famous and has made much more money so he benefitted as well.

I also think it benefitted MM because he was free to fight other international competition like he wanted, was more appreciated/respected after he left, and probably got paid more money. All parties benefitted IMO