Ben Askren takes on Olympic Gold Medalist Jordan Borroughs tonight.

[Meathead Jock]

I know jackshit about wrestling coming from the UK, what is the difference between collegiate Folkstyle and Freestyle?

In freestyle takedowns hold a higher level of importance and you can't expose your own back to the mat. You get stood back up to your feet very shortly after the takedown if you aren't scoring.

Folkstyle (college) has a much greater importance on being able to control your opponent on the ground and no time limit on the mat.

Askren's opponent has one of the best blast double legs in the sport if not then best. Also in freestyle you get a point for pushing a guy out of the circle (no points in Folk). So Jordan can score a lot of points with his blast double by running people off the mat even if he can't secure the takedown.

 

[Meathead Jock]

Askren bout to get worked.
Folkstyle wouldve been way more fun.

Agreed. I'm sure Askren wants to win, but I think he is fine with the idea of losing because it will put over wrestling in the process by showing how much talent is out there.

I would make Askren slight favorite in Folkstyle but VERY competitive. JB is freestyle is going to crush him tonight though.

 

[MM808]

Shalorus and Brimage were shit wins. Show me how they were remotely relevant at any time in their UFC career. And its fine that they were shit wins, new fighters into the UFC are typically supposed to get a couple of easy fights to build momentum (didn't work out so well for Pettis mind you).

I don't give a fuck whether you are a fan of Askren or not. It has nothing to do with the point I made (which you still haven't figured out a way to refute).

I'll make it easy for you to answer without trying to change the subject:

1. Was Lawler ranked 5th when he fought Askren?
2. Was Lawler a former champ?
3. Were Brimage or Shalorus ranked when they fought Conor or Khabib? Had they ever won a title or even beaten a top 10 guy in the UFC prior to fighting Conor and Khabib?

Does this make is simpler for you?

Hey u made the first comment downplaying their opponents and not posting their records when they fought at the time. Mad for no reason lmao

 

[SKITZADACTYL]

Sorry but maybe you should watch McGregor's first fight or the lead up to the event. He got a ton of press and was heavily promoted out of the gate.


Anyone that followed European MMA knew all about Conor coming into his first appearance.

And my point which seems to keep getting obscured it that Lawler was a far tougher first fight than anything close to what McGregor or khabib had for their first fights. I don't recall either of them fighting a guy that was ranked much less a former champ in their first tilt.

but i'm saying it was different, because askren was already very well known with some notable wins, 2 guys who could/would be top 10 WW's in the UFC and an ATG LW in aoki.

 

[ArtemV]

Match 12 is going to be sick. Diakimohalis vs. Punia will be crazy. Punia got a silver at last year's worlds, gold at the Ali Aliev memorial and Asian championships, and Yianni is coming into his own, but Bajrang will be a good test.

 

[Greco_Wiz]

Yianni looks great right now but I'm still picking Bajrang. Foster vs. Taylor is a comical mismatch.

I think Punia is the better overall wrestler right now, but he’s been so busy and the travel has to be getting to him. Add that to the fact this is Yianni’s backyard and he’s probably less scouted, I slightly lean Yianni. I think it’ll be within two either way.

 

[Sweater of AV]

Should be a fun event overall.

 

[CPH]

I'm laughing at some of the posts in this thread. Second time I see an Askren fanboi get offended at someone for questioning his clearly biased posts and rage-blocking him. It's a little weird.

 

[liljuey]

I'm ready for this! Askren vs Burroughs is cool to watch, but I don't see Burroughs losing whatsoever. I'm excited for Yianni vs Bajarang and Suriano vs Colon. Those should be good! The rest of the matches honestly seem like mismatches lol I like the idea of NCAA champions vs World team, however, a match like David Taylor vs Drew Foster shouldn't be happening lol I'd rather see David Taylor wrestle someone ranked internationally.

 

[spargament]

All this thread is about is Ben's wrestling match tonight! There was no need to bring up and discredit those fighters it was a stupid post. imo

You seem lost...

Why did you feel the need to shit on a bunch of the lightweights in order to try and put Ben over?

They should call the event "Oil Check"

People didn't know about Conor or Khabib before UFC yeah sure some hardcores did but more people knew about Askren i am sure.


What is your point anyway that Askren has huge balls? lol gtfo he didn't choose the fight that's what was offered and he barely made it out alive.

Thank you for valued contributions toward this, "thread...about... Ben's wrestling match tonight!"

 

[BEATDOWNS]

You seem lost...







Thank you for valued contributions toward this, "thread...about... Ben's wrestling match tonight!"

I wasn't the only one disagreeing with that buffoon...

 

[Phisher]

I don’t really follow the scene. Is this a stacked card worth watching the entirety of, or is it a “just watch the main event” type of thing?

You should watch the entire card.

Also, if you want to get into grappling scene, national and international-level wrestling competitions are like 100 times more exciting than gi sport BJJ. I have no interest whatsoever in watching the latter most of the time.

 

[BEATDOWNS]

You should watch the entire card.

Also, if you want to get into grappling scene, national and international-level wrestling competitions are like 100 times more exciting than gi sport BJJ. I have no interest whatsoever in watching the latter most of the time.

Isn't Askren"s match for charity and not official like an exhibition?

 

[Fahcough]

You don't get ass kicked in wrestling. Its not fighting.

 

[Phisher]

Isn't Askren"s match for charity and not official like an exhibition?

Yeah, it's obviously not serious competition, but it should be entertaining nonetheless if you've got nothing else going on.

 

[Ken Fresno]

Are you seriously comparing Robbie Lawler to Brimage and Kamal? Askren has some huge balls, and that's it.

All this thread is about is Ben's wrestling match tonight! There was no need to bring up and discredit those fighters it was a stupid post. imo

Ah so you are stating that Askren's first fight in the UFC was not against a much tougher opponent than Conor, Khabib and Geadtjhe got? Tell me more...

@Stixx and @Dirge are still celebrating Tito getting sweet revenge on Chuck. A win is a win, right boys?

Also, Melendez fought Henderson for the title and got cheated out of a split decision in his UFC debut. So there's that.

Also, Dan Henderson:

First 2 UFC fights: Allan Goes, Carlos Newton

First 2 PRIDE fights: Wanderlei Silva, Renzo Gracie

First 2 UFC fights upon 1st return: Rampage Jackson, Anderson Silva

First 2 Strikeforce fights: Jake Shields, Babalu Sobral

First 2 UFC fights upon 2nd return: Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida

 

[Dirge]

@Stixx and @Dirge are still celebrating Tito getting sweet revenge on Chuck. A win is a win, right boys?

Also, Melendez fought Henderson for the title and got cheated out of a split decision in his UFC debut. So there's that.

Are you slow? Chuck should have been nowhere near a cage. Show me where I ever indicated this was a good idea...

And yes there are examples of top guys coming in and fighting top fighters right away but that was primarily through the strikeforce acquisition. Cormier got Mir for example. In my initial comments I made mention of that. Strikeforce was a special case because the org was folded in pretty much without issue into the UFC ranks.

However my point (which keeps getting obscured) is that the trend for hyped names coming in from orgs "other than Strikeforce" is to get a couple of feeder fights to build them up. Conor, Khabib, Gaedjthe and even Pettis got guys that they were expected to beat. Didn't work out so well for Pettis though

 

[Pakman]

And that made Brimage or Kamal ranked? They had zero top 15 wins and were not ranked when they fought Conor and Khabib. Are you actually disputing that???

Lawler was ranked #5 just prior to the Askren fight.

I was comparing the levels of competiton they fought. But I guess in your educated opinion that Shalorus and Brimage were just as dangerous as Robbie Lawler for a first fight.

People will argue about anything on here. I say, two guys got unranked opponents and one guy fought a top 5 guy and someone just has to find a way to dispute a simple fact.

Khabib was relatively unknown coming into the UFC. Askren was involved in the lone "Trade" between 2 major MMA promotions, comes in with good record and has been a champion in the multiple orgs he's been in outside of the UFC.

You're trying to make Askren look extra good by discrediting other fighters, that's not necessary.

 

[PurpleDrank]

Anyone know where you can watch this?

 

[Ken Fresno]

Are you slow? Chuck should have been nowhere near a cage. Show me where I ever indicated this was a good idea...

And yes there are examples of top guys coming in and fighting top fighters right away but that was primarily through the strikeforce acquisition. Cormier got Mir for example. In my initial comments I made mention of that. Strikeforce was a special case because the org was folded in pretty much without issue into the UFC ranks.

However my point (which keeps getting obscured) is that the trend for hyped names coming in from orgs "other than Strikeforce" is to get a couple of feeder fights to build them up. Conor, Khabib, Gaedjthe and even Pettis got guys that they were expected to beat. Didn't work out so well for Pettis though

I think, as was also said earlier, this is revisionist history. Or you just didn't follow live and are looking up their present records.

Brimage for Conor and Johnson for Gaethje were not "feeder fights" at the time.

Alvarez also got Cowboy in his first fight over from Bellator. But clearly we can go on.