While everyone but Georges St-Pierre contemplates his next opponent, Ben Askren has been campaigning for this fight mostly because people won’t stop asking him about it. The UFC on FOX account seems to mention him bi-weekly now and Askren is shrugging and RTing every time it happens. On the latest editions of The MMA Hour, he not only thinks the fight goes down in 2019, but runs play-by-play on exactly how he defeats the two-division UFC champion.
“Here’s what I think happens, because the one thing I have over [Georges St-Pierre] is I have the wrestling advantage and I don’t get tired, and that’s usually what he’s relied on in the last, say, 10 to 12 fights or so. I think he’s very tough to take down early. I think he’s very tough. I think he’s probably going to win the striking battle, but one of the things, I never take a lot of damage. I just don’t get hit a lot. That’s what I’m good at.”
.@BenAskren breaks down a potential fight between him and Georges St-Pierre: “In the 5th round he mentally breaks and he says, ‘I can’t do this anymore.” 😮Read full story: https://t.co/C0pxRv2wx0 #TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/8OBYKYRMhU
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 13, 2018
“Over the course of the second and third round, I start to wear him down, my takedowns become more effective. By the third and fourth round, I’ve started dominating with my top game. He’s used to being on top — he can’t get me off of top. If he does get a momentary glimpse of hope, I’m back on him, no problem. And in the fifth round, he mentally breaks and he says, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I’ve never been in this position in my life,’ and he let’s me finish him. TKO. He just says, ‘I’m done with this sh-t.’” — Ben Askren speaking on The MMA Hour.
For fans of Ben Askren, they don’t need any preaching to know Askren has the wrestling chops to make things really interesting for Georges St-Pierre. For his detractors, this is the only fight that can finally prove Ben Askren not only deserved to be in the UFC all along, but that he was and is one of — if not the — best welterweight on the entire planet. …And if we’re not trying to prove that, then what is this whole MMA thing all about anyway?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/13/2018.