So, I got to thinking about Ben Askren today, about how he was released by Bellator even though he was their undefeated champion, about how the UFC declined to sign him, and about how he eventually signed with OneFC, a smaller mma organization based in Singapore. And at the end of all that thinking, I felt a deep disappointment.
Ben Askren, for those who are unfamiliar with him, is arguably the greatest wrestler in mixed martial arts. In high school, he won the state championships. Twice. In college, he wrestled for the University of Missouri, where he made it to the NCAA championship match ALL 4 YEARS. That's right, he was in the finals every year of his collegiate career. He lost in his Freshman and Sophmore years before winning in both his Junior and Senior years of college. In both years when he won the national title, he went undefeated. That's right, he had over 80 wrestling matches without a defeat.
He finished college with an overall record of 153-8. 91 of those 153 wins were pins, which puts him third in the all time pins list. ALL TIMES.
If that wasn't enough, Ben then made the 2008 Olympic team. He won his first match by pin, but was then defeated soundly by Cuba's Ivan Fundora. This ended his dreams of an Olympic medal. Some thought that Ben's inexperience in freestyle wrestling was his downfall, since he had wrestled folkstyle in college. But according to his Wikipedia page, Ben made no excuses. Instead, with tears in his eyes, he said, "That wasn't it. I just wasn't good enough. I sucked."
After that, Ben decided to take his world class wrestling skills into the mixed martial arts arena. So far, his record is spotless. 12 wins. No defeats. While fighting for Bellator, he dominated his competition (except for veteran, Jay Hieron, who gave him a stiff test) so thoroughly, the fights were widely panned as boring. The other guys had no chance. But while Ben completely owned the competition, he had a difficult time finishing them. Once he got his hands on an opponent, they were going wherever he wanted them to, but he could pound on them all night, turn their faces into hamburger, and still fail to knock them out.
Consequently, he wasn't the most beloved Bellator employee. He may have been one of the best welterweights in the world, but he wasn't pulling the ratings they were looking for. Bellator wanted knockouts, like the ones delivered by Douglas Lima. See the clip below:
Guess what? You see the guy landing a vicious head kick knockout above? You do? Well, Ben Askren rag-dolled him. It wasn't even competitive. Ben put him on his back and kept him there. Pounded on his face all night. But the casual fan--and even some hard core fans--thought it was boring.
So when Ben's contract ran out, Bellator didn't resign him. They let their champion walk.
Ben and the rest of the mma world expected him to be signed by the UFC. After all, it was clear he had some of the best wrestling chops in the business, and wrestling is arguably the best base a mixed martial artist can have. Many fans and experts believed he would fit right in with the UFC's 170 pound contenders. I am one of those.
And though he met with UFC owners, they did not come to an agreement. UFC president, Dana White, said Ben needed to go to the World Series of Fighting promotion where he could actually face some good competition, and that he wasn't ready for the big leagues.
Now, many have flamed Dana and the UFC for this decision. They say the UFC can't claim to have the best fighters if they're not signing a guy like Askren. They say that Dana's comment about Ben not being ready for the competition in the UFC is just a smoke screen--that the real reason for not signing Ben is they couldn't risk signing a Bellator guy who might come in and wreck their division. It would make Bellator look good at the UFC's expense.
I tend to agree with those guys. Dana's comments were insincere. But from a business point of view, I find it hard to fault their decision. Ben had the potential to beat some big names. That would have made Bellator look great, and Bellator is in the UFC's cross-hairs. They would love to see Bellator fail the way so many of the UFC's rivals have failed in the past.
Plus, the UFC already receives truck loads of criticism any time one of their cards is filled with decisions instead of knockouts and submissions. Their last two cards, for instance, have set the record, and then tied the record, for most decisions. And what was the fan response? UFC sucks! I'm never buying another pay-per-view! This is watered down garbage!
If the UFC is constantly being criticized when their fights end with decisions, should it surprise anyone when they don't sign a guy who is infamous for his inability to finish?
So, again, from a business stand point, I get it. But from a purist's stand point, I don't. As a purist, as a guy who loves to watch high-level mixed martial arts, I want to see the best guys in the world fight each other. From what I've seen, Ben Askren is one of those guys. For that reason alone, he should be in the UFC, where the best 170 pound fighters ply their trade.
Would he beat everyone? I don't know. I haven't seen him fight against the caliber of opponents he would face in the UFC. He might get in there and get his head ripped off by Carlos Condit, or have his limbs twisted into knots by Damien Maia. Or he might do to them what he has done to almost every man he's faced so far: put them on their backs and grind them into the canvas. And keep this in mind: Ben is getting better at finishing fights. In fact, he has finished his last two fights. Not because he knocked his opponents unconscious, but because he was throwing them such a severe beating, the referee or the doctor decided they had to stop it. For their own safety. In other words, they were worried that Ben might beat them to death.
So the two biggest mma promotions in North America passed on Ben, but the biggest mma promotion in Asia did not. One Fighting Championship, or OneFC, signed him. I expect he'll dominate the competition there just as he dominated it in Bellator. Who knows? Maybe when his contract expires in a few years, the UFC will take a chance and sign the man. Or then again, he might be surprised by the level of talent in Asia. Perhaps he'll run into a guy who has the answer to his wrestling.
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Until next time.
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