Askren's problem was timing, not skill

[BlessedSoldier]

The ref could've easily stopped the Lawler fight when Robbie was nearly decapitating Ben. And Robbie was a good 5 years past his prime....

Doesn’t matter Ben was fine, even got up took Lawler down and had him in a bad position. Lawler did go out for a sec

 

[Buffmeister]

The ref could've easily stopped the Lawler fight when Robbie was nearly decapitating Ben. And Robbie was a good 5 years past his prime....

Herb even said he was 1 or 2 shots away from getting between them...

 

[mkt]

Doesn’t matter Ben was fine, even got up took Lawler down and had him in a bad position. Lawler did go out for a sec

Yes, it certainly "matters." Ben came very close to losing 3 fights in a row. And calling the Mas fight a fluke is a cop-out. Even without the 5-second KO, Mas would have multiple chances to KO Ben on his feet. That was not a definite win for Askren no matter what.

 

[ArtemV]

He never should have tried to take Maia down.

 

[JustBleed69]

He came to the UFC too late in his career.....too much wrestling mileage on his body, and not fighting enough top tier fighters before he came over. 5-6 years earlier and he would have been a dominant champion. His pure wrestling is still better than 95% of these guys anyway.

Go ahead and pretend he's a can if it helps you sleep at night, but at least he didn't "catch colitis" when going up against the killers.

He came in too late, he didn't fight top opposition outside of the UFC so he never had to adapt or evolve his game, and the UFC has far superior competition compared to anyone he ever faced at the time.
Yeah, Lima and Koreshkov are good wins but they were incredible young at the time. Also, GSP is objectively the most accomplished fighter in MMA history and fought mainly only the number 1 contenders of his era.

Have fun trying to sleep at night seeing Askrens rigamortus post Masvidal corpse in the Octagon.

 

[vanillaisis]

He never should have tried to take Maia down.

Probably because he wasn't used too striking for whole rounds at a time and wasn't ready for it. Props to Maia and props to Ben as well for taking the risk and trying.

 

[vanillaisis]

He came in too late, he didn't fight top opposition outside of the UFC so he never had to adapt or evolve his game, and the UFC has far superior competition compared to anyone he ever faced at the time.
Yeah, Lima and Koreshkov are good wins but they were incredible young at the time. Also, GSP is objectively the most accomplished fighter in MMA history and fought mainly only the number 1 contenders of his era.

Have fun trying to sleep at night seeing Askrens rigamortus post Masvidal corpse in the Octagon.

At the time Lima and Askren fought Lima had been a pro for 6 years and Askren a pro for 3 years. Lima had 25 fights and Askren had 9. Tell me again who the inexperienced one was.

 

[ArtOfDrowning]

Poor Maia, he almost caught pnemonia from all those spinning backfists.

 

[JustBleed69]

At the time Lima and Askren fought Lima had been a pro for 6 years and Askren a pro for 3 years. Lima had 25 fights and Askren had 9. Tell me again who the inexperienced one was.

So you're saying the Lima right now is just as good as the one Askren faced?

 

[BlessedSoldier]

Yes, it certainly "matters." Ben came very close to losing 3 fights in a row. And calling the Mas fight a fluke is a cop-out. Even without the 5-second KO, Mas would have multiple chances to KO Ben on his feet. That was not a definite win for Askren no matter what.

he could easily be 3-0

 

[vanillaisis]

So you're saying the Lima right now is just as good as the one Askren faced?

Of course not but at the same time Askren wasn't the best version of himself either. He had 9 fights going in. Lima had 25.

 

[mkt]

Of course not but at the same time Askren wasn't the best version of himself either. He had 9 fights going in.

What exactly did Ben improve in? His strking remained horrible and his "funky scrambles" and "great submission defense" turned out to be myths shattered by a 41-year old. Early Bellator Askren might have been the best version due to his youth if nothing else.

 

[vanillaisis]

What exactly did Ben improve in? His strking remained horrible and his "funky scrambles" and "great submission defense" turned out to be myths shattered by a 41-year old. Early Bellator Askren might have been the best version due to his youth if nothing else.

Ben defended like 6 or 7 subs from Maia successfully before he got caught. It was a competitive fight where Ben took him down 4-5 times and it was 1-1 going into the 3rd round. Maia is a goddamn wizard son don't disrespect his skills there's no shame in getting choked out by him.

 

[BEATDOWNS]

Poor Maia, he almost caught pnemonia from all those spinning backfists.

Oh that is what he was trying to do?

Huh!

 

[Lando]

Garbage. 5 years earlier and he would've lost embarrassingly to GSP and been KO'd by Hendricks, Lombard, prime Lawler and others. Shields, Maia and Palhares would both outgrapple and submit him (at least Maia and Palhares would submit him).

This

 

[mkt]

Ben defended like 6 or 7 subs from Maia successfully before he got caught. It was a competitive fight where Ben took him down 4-5 times and it was 1-1 going into the 3rd round. Maia is a goddamn wizard son don't disrespect his skills there's no shame in getting choked out by him.

No disrespect to Maia at all but he's way past his prime. He's 7 years older than Ben and lost to wrestlers like Usman, Colby and Woodley in recent years. There have also been plenty of fighters who defended all of his submission attempts...not just the first few. Masvidal, Fitch, Shields, Nelson, Weidman and Rory are some examples.

 

[vanillaisis]

No disrespect to Maia at all but he's way past his prime. He's 7 years older than Ben and lost to wrestlers like Usman, Colby and Woodley in recent years. There have also been plenty of fighters who defended all of his submission attempts...not just the first few. Masvidal, Fitch, Shields, Nelson, Weidman and Rory are some examples.

At least he didn't do what Colby did, or Woodley, or Usman. Ben's got some balls on him and he took some risks. He got caught shit happens. Askren went from boring to a JBG.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

He wouldn’t have beaten Koscheck or prime Jon Fitch imo. He couldn’t sniff GSPs undies and he would’ve been knocked out by prime steroid Hendricks

 

[mkt]

At least he didn't do what Colby did, or Woodley, or Usman did.

You mean win? That's the whole point of MMA (and any sport). Sadly, Ben's striking is so bad he'd probably lose a 5-round kickboxing fight vs. Maia.

 

[SuperNerd]

Lol, TS couldn't help but make this a GSP thread.