Photo by Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Will Ben Askren become the biggest bust of all time?
That may depend on his performance at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 162 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, where he collides with Demian Maia in the five-round headliner this Sat. night (Oct. 26, 2019) on ESPN+ from inside Singapore Indoor Stadium.
When Askren was dealt to UFC earlier this year, in a trade that involved flyweight phenom Demetrious Johnson, the “Funky” wrestler was undefeated in his professional career and held championship titles for both Bellator MMA and ONE Championship.
But in two trips to the Octagon, Askren has failed to live up to the years of trash talk. Sure, he defeated Robbie Lawler in his UFC debut, but he was also dumped on his head and nearly killed before getting a submission win that may have come by way of referee error.
Then came a brutal, five-second loss to Jorge Masvidal in his sophomore effort.
“I think the worst thing that could happen is an extended ass-kicking where you get your ass kicked for 15 minutes; that would be terrible,” Askren told UFC.com. “Obviously, that isn’t what happened — he hit me with one shot — and part of me wishes I had more of an opportunity to try to do something. But at the same time, it’s just, ‘Hey, that happened and there is nothing I can do.’ It’s done, so I might as well move on. But my genuine feeling is you get on with it when you lose. You don’t sit and whine about it forever if it happens — you can’t change it, so you get on with your life.”
To his credit, Askren (19-1, 1 NC) is still headlining UFC cards and remains in the division Top 15.
“Funky” turned 35 back in July and doesn’t have a lot of time to carve out a legacy among stateside competition. A loss to Maia would be devastating in terms of his UFC future and a surefire way to be eliminated from the 170-pound title chase.
That said, a commanding performance — coupled with victory — would go a long way in reestablishing him as a top talent in the welterweight division. It sounds like Askren has moved on from his recent struggles, but it might take a handful of big wins for UFC fans to follow suit.
It all starts Saturday night in Singapore.