Ben Askren: Late Career Evaluation
Photo by Dux Carvajal/ONE Championship/Getty Images
Ben Askren’s legendary folkstyle wrestling career will likely hold up as one of the most impressive ever. A two-time NCAA champion and four-time finalist, his legacy is largely defined by his efforts to pioneer “funk” and uncommon scrambling techniques, but his pin-streak and dominant wins over wrestlers like Jake Herbert are truly what cement his status as an all-time collegiate great.
He is without question the most high-profile folkstyle wrestler to genuinely pursue MMA.
Just as he did in wrestling, Askren approached MMA in his own way. He never developed a striking game in earnest, his insane durability allowed him to force wrestling exchanges without suffering any serious consequences. Against Andrey Koreshkov in Bellator, an Askren shot attempt saw him duck directly into a knee from one of the most powerful welterweights to ever compete.
Askren carried on with the takedown attempt like nothing had happened.
Now, likely far past his physical prime, Askren is suffering collisions that he can’t just shrug off or push through.
Let’s take a look at how Askren has operated in his last few noteworthy fights. If you’ve read my work on wrestling in MMA before, you’ll know that my focus is largely on ringcraft, how does a wrestling-based MMA fighter enter into wrestling situations, and in what ways does the rest of their game support or hinder those methods?
If you were hoping for a technical breakdown of how Askren performs certain techniques, or something on his top game, this is not the article for you. BJJ Scout has worked tirelessly on covering Askren’s game, please watch his videos as they are excellent.
If you’re looking for insights into the game of Demian Maia, Askren’s October 26th opponent, our grappling analyst Tommy Elliot did an incredible job breaking down Maia’s performances against wrestlers.
Sine Qua Non: Demian Maia vs. Wrestlers
Together, Tom and I went back and forth to break down Ben Askren vs. Demian Maia.
Demian Maia vs. Ben Askren: Grappler's Paradise?
Tom’s insights came largely from his article, mine came from the content below.
Process and Habits
To start most fights, Askren walks forward with his hands outstretched, putting himself very obviously into his opponent’s striking range. This strategy comes with the assumption that if you walk straight into someone with your hands away from your face in MMA, they’re going to try to punch it. This excludes several ONE and Bellator opponents like Zebaztian Kadestam who backed themselves straight into the cage when faced with the threat of Askren’s outstretched hands, offering him an entry on a silver platter.
There are plenty of fighters who wouldn’t just stand there and could actually play off the hands to angle off and evade laterally, as Robbie Lawler showed in flashes, but let’s assume they can’t do that.
Either way, you’re taking a huge risk, putting yourself in mortal peril to get what is basically guaranteed grappling contact. It’s a minimalist’s approach, leaning on your biggest strength to fight through unideal situations rather than crafting a game that sets up wrestling in a relatively safe, replicable manner.
It’s not even necessary to develop your striking to the point where it could be your “A” game, like Chad Mendes or prime Johny Hendricks. You just have to be competent enough to exist in striking exchanges, being able to convince your opponent your strikes are worth reacting to is a huge benefit to anyone looking to wrestle in MMA.
Given the strength of his top game, Ben Askren is partially justified in his approach. He probably doesn’t need several takedowns per round, even if he’s not in dominant control after one shot, he’s begun a long, drawn out process of grappling that extends to the clinch.
But what if that doesn’t work?
In his advanced age, and given what can happen to him in between takedown attempts, Askren cannot just shoot over and over again until he gets what he wants.
This is why it absolutely matters if Askren’s shots are poor mechanically or performed without any auxiliary setup to speak of. Before the Masvidal fight we already knew he wasn’t invincible, craft matters.
Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler (2019)
While it was relatively short, his UFC debut against Robbie Lawler was a great crash course in the strengths and weaknesses of late-career Askren. I’m going to use this fight as a base, pulling in examples from other Askren fights as we go.
Take a look at Askren’s first entry on Robbie Lawler. As soon as Lawler looked to throw the first punch of the fight, Askren got to work, shooting for the legs.
Yikes.
It would extremely generous to call that a level change, it’s certainly not a penetration shot. Askren doubled over at the waist, hardly even bending his knees, reaching for the legs of Lawler.
Lawler controlled Askren from front headlock and looked to sprawl his hips straight back, but I admit, there was nuance to this terrible-looking shot. With his left hand, Askren blocked above the knee of Lawler while turning in and pushing with his right arm.
It would be foolish to expect that this alone, from such a compromised position, could take Lawler off his feet, but it served a purpose. It forced Lawler to recover his base and sprawl in earnest, putting him on his knees while attempting to control Askren from front headlock. Askren got exactly what he wanted - a wrestling situation.
Nice job limping out by Askren.
Almost immediately, Askren limped out and swam back with his left arm to reach across the back of Lawler, working to his feet to circle behind. The scramble ensued, leading to Askren with one boot in and Lawler going two-on-one against the overhooking arm of Askren.
Staggering while attempting to shuck Askren off, this is how Lawler found himself underneath Askren’s hips, Askren loaded across his back in a crucifix-like position. It’s possible Askren was actually looking for the crucifix, but before we go to find out, Lawler was spiking him on his head.
I don’t think anyone would say there’s no argument that the fight could have been stopped as Lawler was brutalizing Askren, post-slam. I’ve seen, many, many fights stopped for less. Let’s say that was the end of the fight, Askren’s lack of defensive responsibility as a grappler was his undoing. He put himself in a completely vulnerable situation to keep hold of Lawler, anticipating that his opponent would only be interested in disengaging.
This was far from the first time Askren’s disregard for his opponent’s wrestling or grappling ability has landed him in hot water.
While primarily a striker, Luis Santos made great use of his size, strength and judo to counter the sloppy entries of Askren.
It’s not only counters to his wrestling that have troubled Askren.
Against Bakhtiyar Abbasov, Askren walked right at his opponent with his legs straight and his base narrow. Clearly, he was not expecting his opponent to willingly go to the ground with him, as Abbasov blew him off his feet.
This example comes with a caveat, as Abbasov’s top control looked truly horrendous and he was reversed fairly quickly. In that sense, maybe Askren was right not to think at all about his opponent’s wrestling.
But changing your habits and style is hard. He’s not going to be a completely different fighter in a few short months, he’s been training to fight this way for a decade. Thus, when he meets Demian Maia, if Ben Askren doesn’t approach the fight prepared to defend takedowns, he’s going to be in huge trouble.
Back to the Lawler fight.
Askren survived being F5’d by Lawler, and we were able to gather some valuable intel for his upcoming fight with Demian Maia.
Off his back in half guard, Askren attacked an underhook on the side of the guard, giving him a path to start to scoot out toward Lawler’s back. This is a great position for Askren, as his only goal is to create enough space to free his hips and get to a place where he can fight off his knees. His opponent will likely whizzer, as Lawler did, which can sometimes shut down that climb toward the back from the underhook, but if anything it gives Askren some stability to make his move.
I wouldn’t place a ton of stock in Askren being able to pull this off, as Robbie Lawler is clearly not one of the premier top players in the UFC. Known for his creativity, Askren likes to give himself options, if he has room to sit up he’ll reach to come up on a single leg on the half guard side, rather than trying to fight out of a whizzer or bottom of front headlock.
These are two tactics Demian Maia is highly skilled in using himself, I don’t doubt his ability to shut that position down, but you never know.
At the very least, it’s not tough to disengage, cut and run against Askren in these positions. If a fighter knows how to whizzer, stuff the head and limp leg, it’s a straightforward situation. Lawler ended up separating in that sequence, and Luis Santos was able to make a clean getaway every single time he countered Askren’s shots and ended up on top.
Something cool from that Santos fight is Askren’s use of leg entanglements off his back, it’s essentially Askren bringing his use of “funk” from folkstyle to MMA. Leg passing has become a huge part of collegiate wrestling, and Askren is largely responsible for that. The problem is that competent grapplers in MMA have a good degree of familiarity with leg lock systems, and shutting them down is very similar to dealing with a folkstyle leg pass.
For this reason, I don’t believe funk will be a factor against Demian Maia.
Against the cage, Askren didn’t look particularly effective starting from an upper body position. It seems some of his physical deficits came into play, he had to keep his hips back and push off from a strong, split stance to be able to press Lawler against the cage. It worked, but it left his body wide open for ugly knee strikes, which immediately caused him to retreat back to the center of the cage.
If Askren isn’t starting cage grappling sequences already in on a shot or in a grounded control position, it’s not a strong area for him. Despite this, the takedown that lead to Askren’s fight-ending choke was completed against the cage.
It’s not because Askren did a good job on his shot attempt. It’s because Robbie Lawler’s takedown defense against the cage looked absolutely abysmal.
First of all, Askren bent over with his legs straight to pick at the ankle. I know he knows better than that. The reason I am so incredibly frustrated by Ben Askren’s MMA career is that he could have taken it so much more seriously. It’s fairly obvious that Askren decided his skill advantage in wrestling was never going to be compromised, and declined to shape himself as an MMA fighter who could use those strengths as safely and efficiently as possible. Hence, the reprehensible form on his shots.
Perhaps, feeling this, Lawler didnt’t take the shot attempt seriously. Stuffing the head is well and good, as Askren was in a terrible position and he would have great difficulty doing anything productive from there as long as the pressure from Lawler was sufficient. But Lawler stood up straight, switched to using only one hand, so he could punch across his own body with the other.
He had no base, he was no longer preventing Askren from posturing up with his leg, those punches were not worth it.
Parting Thoughts
Ben Askren has skill as an MMA fighter. They’ve been highlighted by several talented analysts, and I’m not denying that his style was effective against a certain tier of fighters. The fact of the matter is, his strengths aren’t strong enough to make his game work against elite or near-elite opponents without the rest of his skills being developed.
And when Askren’s A-game is failing over and over again, like it did against Luis Santos, it appears he is willing to try things he has zero competency in - like striking.
When employing his B-game, Askren looks somewhere between ineffective and lost.
If it wasn’t for Maia’s undying willingness to grapple and wrestle whenever possible, I’d feel very strongly about him hurting Askren on the feet. It’s highly unlikely Askren’s durability is at its peak after being flatlined and hit with several subconcussive blows just a few months ago. At the very least, this means that Askren has no other choice but to continue to pursue a grappling and wrestling gameplan, even if it’s going poorly for him.
I’m interested to see how Askren’s top and bottom game stack up against one of MMA’s most elite grapplers. However, it’s the wrestling exchanges that will likely shock fans. As seen in Tom’s article, Maia’s wrestling is effective and criminally underrated, while Askren’s is not being applied in the best way possible.
Post-fight, Tom and I will likely revisit these topics and reflect on where we were right, where we were wrong, and what we learned.