Askren dominated Friday night against his more experienced opponent, winning with an impressive north-south choke 1:15 into the first round at the Scott Casber-promoted DM MaxFights “Ballroom Brawl.” We began the night with many questions surrounding Askren’s MMA development, whether he was ready for such a test. I was reminded that nobody that has entered the MMA realm past or present has the background of Ben “Funky” Askren.
I saw Ben about an hour before his fight. I walked up introduced myself, and wished him good luck. When I looked in his eyes, I saw a calm fighter, one who looked to have a secret. He knew he was going to circle, be patient and take Delanoit down, and submit him. We all knew that was going to be his game plan, but we didn’t know how easy it would be. Delanoit (13-8) looked to stand and trade punches early, Askren went for a shot, and Delaniot did a good job of sprawling until they clinched in the fence. Keeping double under hooks, Delanoit fended off the Askren inside trip attempt. After a couple knees and some posturing against the cage, Askren dropped levels and used a single leg of sorts to get the fight to the mat. It looked as though Askren may have fallen into a triangle choke with his head in position near Delanoit’s legs, but Askren coolly used his top game to control Delanoit, rotate to gain side control and sink in the choke.
In a post fight interview, Askren admitted that his striking needs work, and that when it gets even a “little” better, he would like to stand and strike more. Askren can take anybody down and win in this fashion on any venue; he will need to develop solid combos to work in harmony with his wrestling. These are things he’s aware of ... now it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” Ben Askren is on a big stage. Training with other former collegiate wrestlers at the Arizona Combat gym will further develop his game. If we thought others looked good making the transition from NCAA champion to MMA fighter, we haven’t seen anything yet. Let the Askren hype train begin, Dana White, Scott Coker, you’re on the clock, it’s time for “Funky” on a big stage.
Around the cage ...
Thoughts from UFC 102: Randy Couture re-signs with UFC for six more fights, loses to a tough Antonio Nougeria ... Jake Rosholt looked impressive with a third-round submission via arm triangle over fan favorite Chris Leben. Rosholt used his takedowns and impressive improved striking to keep Leben off-balance the entire fight. Awesome performance by Rosholt on the main card. It looked every bit as dominant as college teammate Johny Hendricks' win at UFC 101’s main card. Rosholt was also awarded a $60,000 bonus for submission of the night, Team Takedown is on a roll ... Aaron Simpson, a two time All-American at Arizona State, won his UFC debut by beating the popular Ed Herman. Herman, who has six fights in the UFC, was dominated by Simpson in the standup game with great accuracy in his striking and dropped and stunned Herman in the middle of the first round, and ending the round with his powerful takedowns wearing Herman out and leading to a knee injury, Herman could not continue in the second. Simpson is now 6-0 ... Mark Munoz, a 2001 NCAA champion for Oklahoma State, grinded out a controversial three-round split decision to former Rider University and NCAA qualifier Nick Catone. Both fighters fought with grit and determination, both landing takedowns and brutal right hooks. Catone stunned Munoz early, but Munoz had the better ground game, look for a rematch ... Well’s that it for this week. Check out former Michigan state alum Gray Maynard. who is co headlining UFC’s Fight Night on Wednesday, September 16 against former Augsburg wrestler Roger Huerta. Also in action that night are former wrestlers C.B. Dollaway, Mike Pyle, and Mark Piece.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now