Photo by Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Styles make fights, and the UFC has reportedly just locked down an intriguing battle between two of their best non-strikers. Demian Maia is a jiu jitsu expert who only tends to get thwarted when he can’t get his opponent to the ground. Ben Askren is a wrestling powerhouse who does all his best work from there. According to TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, the two will get down on October 26th at UFC on ESPN+ 20 in Kallang, Singapore.
Remember that time Ben Askren got on the mic after his questionable Robbie Lawler win and asked UFC president Dana White “Is that the best you got?” This could be White’s continued answer.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Askren since arriving in the UFC. Lawler welcomed him to the organization by dropping him on his head and pummeling him viciously. Fortunately, a bad call from referee Herb Dean handed Askren the win. When “Funky” refused to agree to a rematch, the UFC moved him up the ladder to face Jorge Masvidal, who cleaned Askren’s clock in 5 seconds with a flying knee — a new record for fastest KO.
That was at the start of July and now the UFC has him set for a fight four months later. A bit quick given the severity of Masvidal’s knockout, but Askren has insisted he wasn’t concussed in the incident and it’s not like Demian Maia is known for dealing out head trauma.
Maia is bouncing back from a three fight losing skid from 2017/18 where top tier wrestlers like Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington, and Kamaru Usman used their abilities to keep the fight upright and avoid submissions. Most recently he’s won his last two – a quick first round submission over Lyman Good and a less impressive but still dominant majority decision over Rocco Martin at UFC on ESPN 3 at the end of June.
For both men, the route to victory is clear. Askren would do well to use his wrestling to stay up rather than take down. Maia will want to get this to the ground and submit Askren. As is often the case with two great grapplers, this one is likely to take place on the feet where we’ll learn who is less terrible at striking.