Ben Askren’s fight with Jorge Masvidal couldn’t have gone any worse – being knocked out in such a devastating fashion by Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee just five seconds into the fight that he lay unconscious for several minutes afterwards.
With that in mind the UFC may well be taking pity on him somewhat by pairing him up with a grappler next time instead as the word is that the UFC are currently eyeing a fight with Demian Maia next for Askren when his medical suspension ends in September.
If so it certainly would be a very intriguing fight, giving Askren a chance to worry less about his striking deficiences and recently cracked chin, and instead see how his olympic level wrestling matches up against Maia’s world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
It’s also worth remembering that Askren was previously undefeated prior to his fight with Masvidal, having racked up an 18-0 record prior to that, which included a somewhat controversial submission victory over former champion Robbie Lawler in his Octagon debut earlier this year.
As for Maia, he is coming off back-to-back victories over Lyman Good and Anthony Rocco Martin.
After his latest victory, the 41-year-old admitted that he may retire by the end of the year and had suggested Diego Sanchez as a potential opponent for his next fight, though being matched up with Askren will surely be an intriguing prospect for him too.
