How good was prime Askren?

[Domitian]

(Eyepoke)

Sapo refused the rematch. He was going to gas and Ben was going to win. Sapo knew that and it's the reason he didn't fight him again. To add to that Sapo is a black belt in Judo and BJJ with plenty of fighting experience.

 

[VAfan]

it's hard to consider a guy that one-dimensional a "good" mma fighter. maybe back in 1996, but not today.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

WTF just watched this vid and this post pop up.

Askren > TWood, musically speaking

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

I don't get the age excuse for Askren's poor UFC run. Robbie and Maia were both older than he was, and Jorge is like 6 months younger. And all of those guys had a lot more fight mileage on them than Ben did.

Ben was a phenomenal wrestler, and I think he was tough and smart. But the holes in his MMA game were Rouesy-esque.

 

[Domitian]

I don't get the age excuse for Askren's poor UFC run. Robbie and Maia were both older than he was, and Jorge is like 6 months younger. And all of those guys had a lot more fight mileage on them than Ben did.

Ben was a phenomenal wrestler, and I think he was tough and smart. But the holes in his MMA game were Rouesy-esque.

Ben was retired and had a messed up hip. He got an opportunity to fight in the UFC and he took it since that was always a dream. If he had still been in ONE he would have stayed retired.

 

[Gracious Warrior]

I still prefer Maia vs Jason MacDonald.

Mayhem vs Shields for me

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Ben was retired and had a messed up hip. He got an opportunity to fight in the UFC and he took it since that was always a dream. If he had still been in ONE he would have stayed retired.

Ben was good. But he wasn't quite good enough to succeed in the top ranks of the UFC. Seems like a very nice guy though. I like him.

 

[PicoPulse]

K1 level

 

[Dude Incredible]

Prime? I think he matched up well with a lot of folks but even in B-tor he was pretty close to losing to some, and from what I understood in One as well. I always enjoyed his wrestling style. In general if he touched your leg you were going down. I'd have to look back and really dig in but I'd still rate him in the top 10-20. Would have liked to seen him fight GSP of course just to settle the argument. I assume this site would have exploded had he won but I don't think he would have nor would it have been close.

 

[fortheo]

(Eyepoke)

I don't think santos was going to have the cardio to keep scrambling and defending from ben for much longer. It's a shame we didn't get to find out, though.

 

[fortheo]

Definitely. I could see Ben getting some good wins in the UFC back in say, 2013. He could give Condit, Diaz, Fitch, Rory, a lot of problems. He'd lose to GSP and Hendricks though. Prime Lawler too.

Even if you transported prime Askren to todays landscape, he'd likely beat guys like Magny, muhammed, neal, and maybe a few others like chiesa.

It's all about style matchups. When he came to the UFC, he was not only past his prime, but it seemed like the UFC went out of their way to give him some of the toughest stylistic match ups possible.

 

[MartinGibson86]

UFC 1 quality “wrestling style” fighter. Way over his head in UFC post 2005, even in his prime.

Lol he was one win from a title shot

 

[Domitian]

Even if you transported prime Askren to todays landscape, he'd likely beat guys like Magny, muhammed, neal, and maybe a few others like chiesa.

It's all about style matchups. When he came to the UFC, he was not only past his prime, but it seemed like the UFC went out of their way to give him some of the toughest stylistic match ups possible.

Ben wanted the belt so I think that's why UFC did that. He knew he was at the end of the rope. Kind of like Chandler getting Hooker/Oliveira/Gaethje he wants the belt and he wants to fight so UFC is obliging him. Ben probably would have got the shot if he didn't get meme'd by Jorge.

 

[GolovKing]

He beat Douglas Lima, Koreshkov, Lawler.....and destroyed Aoki in 57 seconds

Hadn't Lima and koreshkov not entered their primes yet and Lawler and aoki were past theirs? Besides aoki wasn't that great either

 

[HelloJapan]

Mayhem vs Shields for me

If I remember correctly, Jason was very close with a choke, at the end of a round. Will have to re-watch that one.

 

[kingofthecans]

He was a great wrestler. He showed what you can do with great wrestling, but if it's all you do someone will see shit and plan to counter what you always do.... which is what Jorge did.

 

[chinarice]

I'd say he fits nicely in top3..... most overrated fighters of all time.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

I'm his biggest fan and I never blamed his UFC run on age or hip.


The Lawler slam anx Mas knee were flukes that coulda happened at any point in his career and Maia was always his worst matchup

Miracle that I was able to type all that out without being re-directed

The Mas knee wasn't a fluke at all. Go rewatch it, it doesn't take long. Look how confident Mas is. He's planned out this attack because he sees how predictable Askren is, he's pretty damned sure it will work even though its normally low percentage, and he executes perfectly. When you are as one dimensional as Askren was, people will exploit that.

 

[Domitian]

Hadn't Lima and koreshkov not entered their primes yet and Lawler and aoki were past theirs? Besides aoki wasn't that great either

When Askren fought Lima he had been a pro for 3 years and he had 9 fights. Lima had been a pro 6 years with 25 fights. Take from that what you want.

 

[Local Plata]

If by his prime you mean when he was a top college wrestler, he was a top college wrestler. He was never really good at MMA.