MMAjunkie Radio co-host and MMAjunkie contributor Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at a featured fight on the main card for UFC 235.
UFC 235 takes place Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass.
Robbie Lawler (28-12 MMA, 13-6 UFC)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’11” Age: 36 Weight: 170 lbs. Reach: 74″
- Last fight: Decision loss to Rafael dos Anjos (Dec. 16, 2017)
- Camp: Hard Knocks 365 (Florida)
- Stance/striking style: Southpaw/kickboxing
- Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ Former UFC welterweight champion
+ EliteXC middleweight title
+ 20 KO victories
+ 1 submission win
+ 12 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Solid footwork
+ Accurate left hand – right hook
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Hard left Thai kicks
^ Variates well from the body to head
+ Underrated wrestling
^ Good getup ability
+ Effective butterfly guard
+ Dangerous ground striker
– Sometimes subject to activity lulls
+/- Coming off of year-plus layoff
Ben Askren (18-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’11” Age: 34 Weight: 170 lbs. Reach: 71″
- Last fight: Submission win over Shinya Aoki(Nov. 24, 2017)
- Camp: Roufusport (Milwaukee)
- Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
- Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titles
+ 2x NCAA Div. 1 national champ
+ 4x NCAA Div. 1 All-American wrestler
+ 6 KO victories
+ 5 submission wins
+ 9 first-round finishes
+ Relentless pace and pressure
^ Deceptive athleticism and durability
+/- Developing striking game
^ Primarily uses it to make entries
+ Strong inside the clinch
^ Superb from body lock position
+ Solid level-changing shots
^ Chains well between takedowns
+ Excellent transitional grappler
^ Rides and scrambles seamlessly
+/- Coming off of year-plus layoff
Next page: Point of interest: The importance of entries
Point of interest: The importance of entries
In one of the more anticipated matchups on the card for UFC 235, former welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler, is tasked with welcoming the undefeated Ben Askren to the octagon.
Asken, who made his name in the wrestling world by becoming one of two men to earn the Dan Hodge Trophy twice (amidst many other accolades), has had lofty expectations and eyes upon him since stepping onto the mixed martial arts scene.
The former Mizzou Tiger made a solid account for himself early on, earning decisions over former and future Bellator champs like Lyman Good and Diego Lima. Although Askren made concerted efforts to improve his striking and all-around game, we saw him struggle against Jay Hieron – a veteran fighter who could counter and came from a wrestling base.
Askren ended up coming away with a close split-decision win, but it was clear that those type of matchups may be on the harder side for the All-American standout. And considering who will be across from him on Saturday night, I’m not sure how fast and loose Askren will want to play his entries into space.
Lawler, one of the heavier-handed fighters to set foot in this division, has been in similar matchup dynamics throughout his career – arguably building his game around it.
Similar to Anthony Johnson (a former pupil of Lawler’s newfound striking coach, Henri Hooft), Lawler will steadily march down his opposition, cutting off the octagon while shifting his weight from left to right.
Fueled by an excellent awareness of angles, Lawler symbiotically moves his head defensively as his feet set up offensive onslaughts. This approach allows Lawler to stay on balance when attacking, which – at least on paper – helps keep him in position to defend level-changing takedown attempts.
The former welterweight kingpin also keeps more of an anti-wrestler strike selection, throwing things like shovel hooks and uppercuts (from both the lead and rear hand), as well as the occasional lifting knee when he can get the timing. With that in mind, I suspect we’ll see Lawler stick to more of those rather than the left Thai kicks that he’s fallen in love with more recently in his career.
Whether Askren is looking to counter Lawler’s strikes with takedown shots or draw him out of his shell, he will have to commit hard to whatever he’s selling.
Next point of interest: Avoiding the funk
Point of interest: Avoiding the funk
Despite providing legitimate hurdles like counter strikes and footwork fundamentals, Lawler – who does have underrated takedown defense to boot – could be in a sticky situation should he allow Askren into clinching range.
Although Askren can hit things like level-changing doubles to get things done, the former four-time All-American does his best work when getting in on a body lock. Once able to clasp his hands, Askren hits persuasive trips or tosses that he can chain from one to another if he chooses to. If Lawler lets his current foe this far in, then he will definitely be in store for some funk.
As the nickname “Funky” would suggest, Askren developed his brand of funk-style out of necessity to stay afloat with what he felt were more athletic wrestlers. He made it to the finals twice as a freshman and sophomore, but lost twice to the same wrestler: Chris Pendleton.
After that, Askren made a switch from folk-style to freestyle wrestling, a category that carried a rule set that was much kinder to his funky stylings. Even then, you could see his natural aptitude for grappling as Askren was already utilizing positions like 50-50 leg entanglements to reverse or steer opposition, sometimes earning pins out of his efforts.
In MMA, Askren has obviously been a bit more judicious with his approach given the strikes and submissions at play. However, this has not necessarily been good news for any of Askren’s opponents considering the relentless wave of strikes from wrist-ride positions that are likely coming their way.
Lawler has long possessed answers from bottom like a serviceable butterfly guard, but he’ll have to extra careful whenever he tries to stand back up against the wrestling standout.
I am not sure if I can see Askren submitting a sober Lawler in these scenarios, but I do see him having his chances to try (or at the very least re-assert position) whenever Lawler tries to get back to his feet. Typically electing to tripod or turtle to stand, Lawler can sometimes make himself vulnerable to back takes or front headlocks. Against someone with the relentless chains of Askren, that may be more costly than usual.
Next point of interest: Odds, opinion and prediction
Point of interest: Odds and opinions
The oddsmakers and public are somewhat surprisingly siding with the UFC newcomer, listing Askren -300 and Lawler +250 as of this writing.
For whatever reason, regardless of the odds, this fight gave me serious pause when it came to making a pick. Initially, I thought that this was one of the tougher stylistic matchups to hand Askren on his debut.
Lawler is a product who has been tried and tested in similar matchups, both at welterweight and middleweight. However, upon closer inspection, I ended swinging the other way on my viewpoint.
Lawler may have gotten better at shutting down grapplers as his career has progressed, but – win or lose – those matchups (for the most part) ended up being tough fights that saw him lose them more than he won them.
Sure, he may have topped guys like Frank Trigg, Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks (arguably altering all of their career trajectories in the process), but they were all able to take Lawler down throughout their contests until being hurt or otherwise. I would also argue that none of them committed (or even could commit) to the dedicated grappling game that Asken brings to the table.
That said, can Lawler ice Askren with an uppercut on the way in? Absolutely.
Lawler may very well be my favorite welterweight warlord of all time, so being wrong on this prediction wouldn’t bum me out in the slightest. Still, I would argue that a wrestling-heavy assignment is the worst type of matchup to return to off of knee surgery, as I suspect we see Lawler subject to a frustrating three rounds of control time.
Prediction: Askren by decision
For more on UFC 235, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
