Tag: Ben Askren

Ben Askren Believes He Would Have Outgrappled Khabib Nurmagomedov In His Prime

Ben AskrenBen Askren still believes he would have bested Khabib Nurmagomedov had they fought. Askren is now retired from mixed martial arts. However, when he signed with the UFC in 2018, the former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion came with plenty of hype. One of the reasons was “Funky” himself promoting a potential fight between him […]

Ben Askren

Ben Askren still believes he would have bested Khabib Nurmagomedov had they fought.

Askren is now retired from mixed martial arts. However, when he signed with the UFC in 2018, the former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion came with plenty of hype. One of the reasons was “Funky” himself promoting a potential fight between him and Nurmagomedov.

That never panned out as Askren would go 1-2 with the promotion before retiring due to hip issues. With that said, he still maintains that he would have likely outgrappled Nurmagomedov if they ever collided in his prime.

“We would grapple and I think I would be better than him.” Askren said in a recent interview (via Middle Easy). “I feel weird saying this because people go like ‘yeah, you’re full of sh*t.’”

“No one outgrappled [Khabib]. Nobody did. Maybe I’m wrong on this but if we look at the best possible candidates, I’m definitely one of them. Obviously, I have a small size advantage too.” 

Ben Askren: Nurmagomedov Never Fought A High-Level Wrestler

Other than size, Askren also feels Nurmagomedov never fought a high-level wrestler. At least one whose main game is focused on wrestling which would rule Justin Gaethje out.

“He never, unfortunately, fought any real high-level wrestlers,” Askren added. “I was actually disappointed with Justin Gaethje’s wrestling was. Justin Gaethje had some solid success [in college wrestling], but his wrestling was really bad in that fight. He was like seventh place, he was definitely All-American, he was lower though.

“I would like to see how he dealt with someone who I thought, ‘oh man, this guy’s a really high-level wrestler’… I would like to see him in that situation and see how he does.”

For now, we’ll never know as “The Eagle” is retired himself. But in a potential grappling match, Askren would look towards single legs if he ever faced Nurmagomedov.

“If someone said ‘hey Ben, Khabib wants to roll with you. Okay, I’m there tomorrow. Sounds like a blast, let’s go.’ I would probably try single legs and stuff. Honestly, I don’t have the slightest clue. I’d have to feel him out. But, single legs are my best takeaway.”

Do you think Ben Askren in his prime could defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov?

[ARCHIVES] McGregor Continues To Steal The Show Before UFC 179

Conor McGregor is on his way to becoming the most entertaining fighter in MMA history.

Continue Reading [ARCHIVES] McGregor Continues To Steal The Show Before UFC 179 at MMA News.

[MMA NEWS ARCHIVES]

Here’s a look back to an editorial written about Conor McGregor in the middle of his rise to superstardom in 2014. The following piece was published seven years ago to this day and is presented to you in its original, unaltered form.

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 23, 2014, 11:30 PM]

How can anyone not love Conor McGregor?

Seriously?

“The Notorious” one has been providing entertainment all week long as we head into Saturday’s UFC 179 pay-per-view in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Jose Aldo defends his UFC Featherweight Championship in a rematch against Chad Mendes.

While Aldo and Mendes are the headliners this weekend, no one is making more headlines than Ireland’s finest.

Whether it’s Mendes claiming he wants to punch a hole through McGregor’s face, or Aldo calling him a “sh*t,” Conor McGregor is getting people’s attention.

Whether it’s Conor ranting on Twitter (which resulted in a likely January bout with Dennis Siver), or hijacking live television interviews and threatening to rest his balls on a certain Featherweight’s forehead, McGregor is the man in the spotlight.

Whether it’s calling Ben Askren a “pube head”, or stealing the show on UFC 179 Embedded, Conor McGregor cannot — and will not — be ignored.

Hell, today alone, McGregor posted two tweets that generated legitimate laughter from yours truly, as he touted “sipping fresh coconut on the beach in Rio” and then posted a photo of himself with who he called UFC’s “Head Of Operations,” Garry Cook, in the back of an “armored vehicle” while referring to himself as UFC’s “Head Of Removing Heads.”

Conor McGregor is truly a rock star.

No one was sadder than I when Chael P. Sonnen retired — but fear not — his Irish-counterpart has arrived …in style.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to “The Notorious era.” The best part? We’re just getting started!

Talk about this on our official FACEBOOK page, or on our official TWITTER page. You can also talk about it in our popular FORUMS.

Continue Reading [ARCHIVES] McGregor Continues To Steal The Show Before UFC 179 at MMA News.

Askren Says Jake Paul Didn’t Earn His Respect Until After Woodley Fight

Ben Askren says Jake Paul has finally earned his respect. Askren made his boxing debut against Paul back in April where he suffered a first-round KO loss. It was a disappointing result for “Funky” who was trash-talking quite a bit and thoug…

Ben Askren says Jake Paul has finally earned his respect. Askren made his boxing debut against Paul back in April where he suffered a first-round KO loss. It was a disappointing result for “Funky” who was trash-talking quite a bit and thought Paul wasn’t a very good boxer. Despite Askren losing to Paul, he says […]

Continue Reading Askren Says Jake Paul Didn’t Earn His Respect Until After Woodley Fight at MMA News.

Ben Askren Shares His Thoughts on Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley

Ben Askren Jake Paul Tyron WoodleyBen Askren is not one to mince words when it comes to his thoughts on the biggest stories in MMA and combat sports in general, and that wasn’t any different following his teammate and friend Tyron Woodley‘s loss to Jake Paul in a boxing match over the weekend. Askren is a longtime training partner of […]

Ben Askren Jake Paul Tyron Woodley

Ben Askren is not one to mince words when it comes to his thoughts on the biggest stories in MMA and combat sports in general, and that wasn’t any different following his teammate and friend Tyron Woodley‘s loss to Jake Paul in a boxing match over the weekend.

Askren is a longtime training partner of Woodley, including when the two of them were in the UFC together. Askren fought Paul earlier this year and suffered a first-round knockout, which ended up being the first chapter to the story behind the Woodley-Paul rivalry.

After a couple of days of reflection, Askren posted his thoughts on Paul’s win over Woodley and gave insight as to why he felt Woodley won, as well as the rationale behind giving Paul the decision win.

“I thought [Woodley] won, I had it score 5-3,” Askren said in an Instagram post. “He was more aggressive and landed more critical punches, but Paul has definitely gained my respect. I wanted [Woodley] to knock his head off, but he didn’t get it done.”

“It was a really competitive bout and I think it’s pretty evident that Paul has worked hard at this. I think the rematch happens because going from the level that Paul is at to a world-champion level is a long way off. It makes too much sense and there’s a backstory.”

A majority of the fans, including Askren, who watched the bout had Woodley winning, but the boxing experts who called the fight had Paul winning in a pretty convincing decision. An argument can be made that Woodley dealt the most damage, but Paul easily won the battle in terms of volume landed.

After both fighters gave a loosely-made verbal agreement on a rematch, it appears that it makes the most sense moving forward. It sounds like the rivalry between Woodley and Paul doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon. The friendship between Askren and Woodley appears to be a strong bond, and it seems like his thoughts do hold some merit on whether or not a rematch happens.

How did you score Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley? Do you think a rematch will happen?

Ben Askren: If Jake Paul Beats Tyron Woodley I’ll Feel Much Better

Ben AskrenJake Paul defeated Ben Askren back in April in less than two minutes. ‘Funky’ was the first actual fighter that Paul faced. Prior to the Askren fight, Paul beat a fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib and former NBA player Nate Robinson. He has won all three fights by KO/TKO. The 24-year-old has the biggest challenge of his […]

Ben Askren

Jake Paul defeated Ben Askren back in April in less than two minutes.

‘Funky’ was the first actual fighter that Paul faced. Prior to the Askren fight, Paul beat a fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib and former NBA player Nate Robinson. He has won all three fights by KO/TKO. The 24-year-old has the biggest challenge of his young career this Sunday, August 29 staring down the always dangerous ‘Chosen One’ Tyron Woodley.

Askren has had this to say in regards to the fight Sunday and how it will reflect on his past fight with Paul.

“I’m still not under the conclusion that [Jake Paul] is a great boxer, He did hit me one time really good, but it wasn’t like he beat me soundly over six rounds. He does hit hard, I guess we’ll give him credit for that. I tell you what, if he’s able to beat Tyron, I will probably feel much better about what happened to me, because I’ll think ‘damn, Tyron’s really good.’ I think that’s probably unlikely, but in that case, that’s probably what I’d think.” (H/T bloodyelbow)

Askren tends to believe that Woodley is the better fighter and would be surprised if he were to lose to Paul this weekend.

The 39-year-old is still in tremendous fighting shape and has been taking the training for this fight very seriously. His will to win may have risen a level with the run in the beloved ‘Mama Woodley’ had with Paul’s camp members.

Whether you like Paul or not, it is undeniable he has some power in that right hand. At the press conferences held yesterday, Paul explained how he feels he can showcase his full arsenal against Woodley.

“People will see… this kid can fight. He’s got skills, he can take a punch. That gas tank is nice. That inside fighting is nice. That body work is nice. That jab is nice. That 1-2 is nice. I might come out southpaw, I haven’t even shown that yet.” Paul said at yesterday’s press conference. He has been promising a KO blow to ‘The Chosen One’ as he did to Ben Askren earlier this year.

Does a KO from Jake Paul this Sunday make Ben Askren’s loss look any better?

Ben Askren, Henry Cejudo Heap Praise On Gable Steveson, Potential MMA Career

StevesonAs far as Ben Askren and Henry Cejudo are concerned, Gable Steveson is destined for greatness. Steveson recently won a gold medal in wrestling at the Olympics after a remarkable late comeback saw him make headlines across the combat sports world. And although Steveson looks likely to head to the WWE — having also notably […]

Steveson

As far as Ben Askren and Henry Cejudo are concerned, Gable Steveson is destined for greatness.

Steveson recently won a gold medal in wrestling at the Olympics after a remarkable late comeback saw him make headlines across the combat sports world.

And although Steveson looks likely to head to the WWE — having also notably wrestled with Brock Lesnar in the past — Askren feels with less than two years of training in MMA, the 21-year-old could be unstoppable.

“18 months training MMA and tell me who on earth is beating him? Freaking NO ONE”

Cejudo echoed those feelings as he believes Steveson can excel no matter where he goes.

“Welcome to Olympic Champion Mountain. Since the first time I saw you wrestle at the trials I knew you were special. The impossible is nothing for what ever you decide to do after wrestling. Whether it’s Wrestling, NFL, WWE, or UFC. @GableSteveson”

Steveson certainly has a bright future.