How good was Ben askren in his prime?

[BoTyson]

GSP would have knocked him out

 

[Franklin U.]

Ben was a " God" in practice......but we know how much water that actually holds. He also was only 33-34 ? In coming to UFC with no wear and tear against who knows the quality of competition. I was expecting him to show some growing pains coming to UFC ( natural ...even for elites) but he didnt even look that role. One of the more disappointing stays in UFC.

 

[TriangleMonkey]

Damn great wrestler that exposed the B-leagues grappling chops. Atrocious standup entire career. Almost lost to Hieron in his “prime”.

We finally seen what happened when he got to the UFC, too late imo, but the reaults wouldve been the same.

 

[MichaelT]

He would be like a Maia type fighter, feared for one thing and dominate some guys, but lose badly to others, never champ, but always have the skillset to keep himself relevant.

I don't think he would have a hope of beating guys like Colby, Usman, Burns, ever though

 

[bjjwar]

Was he good? Or was he always overrated and it finally got exposed once he came to the ufc?

He finished a UFC former champ in 1 round, so i'd say pretty good.

 

[Huligani]

Comparable to Demian Maia and Jake Shields, and we've seen how well those guys did in the UFC. Better wrestler than both, not as good as either in his submission ability.

 

[Harlekin]

Even the Lima fight....Lima was very early into his career.

Super early, in his 27th fight ffs

 

[chitoortiz]

Super early, in his 27th fight ffs

He wasn't the same fighter as he is now, is what I was trying to say.

But you probably knew that.

 

[Jose Beehive]

Like a young Manny Pacquiao he was.

 

[Paynebringer]

Did anybody even care or notice a prime Ben Askren...?

 

[youllneverwalkalone]

He would be like a Maia type fighter, feared for one thing and dominate some guys, but lose badly to others, never champ, but always have the skillset to keep himself relevant.

This sums it up perfectly imho.

Ben was a " God" in practice......but we know how much water that actually holds. He also was only 33-34 ? In coming to UFC with no wear and tear against who knows the quality of competition. I was expecting him to show some growing pains coming to UFC ( natural ...even for elites) but he didnt even look that role. One of the more disappointing stays in UFC.

Especially when you consider they traded Might Mouse for Askren. For a time it even looked like the UFC had made a great deal, until the rude awakening courtesy of Masvidal.

 

[cburm]

Was he good? Or was he always overrated and it finally got exposed once he came to the ufc?

Why dony you go watch his fights?? And see for youre self

 

[Throwin Bombs]

Was he good? Or was he always overrated and it finally got exposed once he came to the ufc?

@Peli go watch some of his fights and then reply to your own thread. You got 10,000 posts on here in like 8 months, you got the time.

 

[BabyBlue_Bomber]

Not going to lie...

He was one of the only fighters I thought could give St. Pierre some problems, and I still feel that he would have, had they fought around like 2012 or 2013...

 

[TheAmericanGazelle]

I was "known" as a bit of a tongue-in-cheek Askren-homer on here (and elsewhere).

My general feeling is that in his prime, Askren would be a very good matchup against anyone outside the "more athletic wrestler/grappler" mold (guys like Usman or Colby and probably Burns. Maybe Leon Edwards, etc....), but still lose to those types more often than not. Masvidal's knee is a 1-in-a-100 shot and not something likely to be repeatable. I think he'd do well against Till, Wonderboy, Masvidal (despite the 1-in-a-100 knee, all respect of course), Diaz, etc...I think he beats those guys more often than not.

So I'd say somewhere in the back end of the top 10, creeping into the top 5 once-in-a-while (maybe).

 

[Peli]

@Peli go watch some of his fights and then reply to your own thread. You got 10,000 posts on here in like 8 months, you got the time.

I watched his fights. I was excited when he came over. Rogan had me sold. He had so much hype but it tells me nothing about how good he was in his prime

 

[Cpt Migraine]

I agree with maia level.. good scrap btw..

If you don't have an answer for what he does you're absolutely fucked and if you belong in that rare percentage of top fighters that do you make him look silly..

 

[ferrisjso]

He could have been the UFC champ because Robbie had the belt and I think he's better than Robbie. So if he signs with the UFC in 2013 he'd have a window of a few years while the Strikeforce people climbed the ladder. Think he'd beat most guys in GSP's era. But once Woodley and co get to the top of the division it's over for him and he'd be like a RDA and some of the champs from that era who just plummetted.

2 guys he'd likely lose to are GSP and Shields. GSP was really good against one dimensional wrestlers and after the Maia fight find it really hard to see Askren beating Shields. But that isn't an issue cause GSP's gong to flee the division and the UFC hated Shields and were going to cut him the moment they had anything that resembled an excuse(he was on a four fight win streak before the fight where he got cut). So the door is open for Askren don't see anyone else standing in his way.

In terms of his IRL run he could have gotten a title shot. I think Askren would beat Masvidal most times and the KO was flukey but the fact Askren got beat at his own game by Maia shows he'd have had no chance against Woodley or any elite well rounded WW. He'd have been beaten really really really badly by Marty I honestly feel embarrassed I once thought that would be an interesting fight.

Ironically Askren thinks he got bad matchmaking but I think he might have actually got the most winnable 2 fights to start off with. Otherwise he wouldn't have gotten as close as he did.

 

[Carrotman23]

Askren was a decent fighter just not UFC champ material. If u watch his fights in OneFC and Bellator,it was all the same. Rush for a TD, get it and eat hard shots in the process . He was a great grappler but thats about it.

The fact that he managed to remain undefeated for so long in MMA with ZERO striking shows you how well he adapted to the game.

But unfortunately for him, the UFC fighters he faced were all experienced folks who've fought many One-Dimensional wrestlers like him and hence he got exposed very badly here.

 

[ejlarson249]

He took a lot of damage to get the positions he wanted. Dude was durable and a fantastic wrestler. But he had favorable matchups consistently. His best wins are a young Lima and Aoki who was way undersized and old too.

Exactly. And neither of them at that point in their careers would have made top 15 in the UFC.