Ben Askren Is Going To Destroy Jorge Masvidal and Other UFC 239 Predictions

UFC 239 is another stacked card for the premier brand in mixed martial arts. Despite having a plethora of talent on the roster, they only make cards this good 3-4 times a year, so this card is definitely one to look forward to. Now that it's fight week, I keep hearing more and more analysis that is absolutely awful, and I felt I needed to say something since things are getting out of hand.

Ben Askren is going to whoop Jorge Masvidal's ass on Saturday night. The only question is whether Masvidal survives three rounds.

I'm absolutely baffled that you could look at these two fighters and what they have done in the past and come to any other conclusion besides that one. Ben Askren's past is simple. He takes fools down and wears their asses out for as long as it takes. He has done that to EVERYONE he has faced. Now, Askren has not faced the best competition, but he hasn't faced slouches either. He beat Douglas Lima whose only losses in the last ten yars have been to Askren, Rory MacDonald, and Andrey Koreshkov, which he avenged by beating Koreshkov twice. Oh, and Koreshkov's only losses in his career are to Lima and Askren. The Askren loss sets new standards for egregious as Askren got the TKO in the fourth round while outstriking Lima 248 to 3. That is not a typo.

Meanwhile, Masvidal is on quite the hot streak of winning a grand total of one fight in a row. In fact, you can go back three fights, and he only has one win in that time as he lost his previous two before knocking out Darren Till. He got outstruck by Stephen Thompson, and before that, he got outgrappled by Demian Maia. The Maia fight is the most instructive as Maia was able to continually get takedowns on Masvidal. In analysis, people keep giving credit to Masvidal for his wrestling, but if he can't stop a Maia takedown, what the hell is he going to do against Askren? It would be generous to say Maia, who has developed a nice wrestling game for MMA, is half the wrestler that Askren is. Maybe 1/5, but I'm thinking he's more in the 10-15% as good as the man known as Funky.

But don't worry, Masvidal's coach tweeted that Jorge has a friend that wrestles, with a video of him and Yoel Romero play wrestling in a small room. I mean, that's great and all, but just because I have a friend who is a pharmacist doesn't mean that I can start writing prescriptions.

I think my favorite analysis was a guy who said that he'd pick Masvidal in a five-round fight, because he'd be able to wear Askren down by then which is about as insane of a take as I have seen this year. Askren's whole style is wearing his opponent down, and he has never shown any signs of fatigue in any match he's been in. I don't think there is any activity that Masvidal could wear down Askren in.

Like any fight, Masvidal has a puncher's chance, but even that is a reach, because he's not really a knockout guy as he's more a pressure fighter than a single knockout blow. Bet on Askren and reap the rewards on Sunday morning.

As for the title fights, Jon Jones is a fairly easy pick against, well, anyone, and Thiago Santos does not seem to present much of a threat to him.

The Amanda Nunes fight could be more interesting than people think. Nunes has run through a lot of people, but she does gas out, and Holly Holm knows how to make fights long and boring. Holm has been so hesitant to pull the trigger in fights that I still have a hard time seeing her win the fight, but I do think she can go the distance.

As for the last two fights on the main card, I say Luke Rockhold knocks out Jan Blachowicz in his light heavyweight debut. And Diego Sanchez is a total psycho, but he might be a full decade past his prime at this point so I think Michael Chiesa finishes him in the second round.

Also, one of my favorite fighters ever, Gilbert Melendez is fighting on this card, but he might be even more done than Diego Sanchez. I'm hoping for a surprise performance from the former Strikeforce Champion, but my brain has trouble seeing a path to victory for him.

Does Ronda Rousey Need Better Coaching?

After Ronda Rousey got knocked out by Holly Holm, people were asking a lot of questions. Did Ronda come in overconfident? Did she not give Holm the credit she deserves? Is she simply physically overmatched and her reign as the Queen of Women's MMA over? Those questions may be interesting, but I don't think it addresses the real issue in why Ronda Rousey lost, and more importantly lost badly. The real question becomes, does Ronda Rousey need better coaching?

When you look at all of the other UFC champions, you see great camps around them. I mean, maybe the most questionable camp is Demetrious Johnson, and it'd be pretty silly to question the coaching abilities of Matt Hume. Then you look at Ronda Rousey, and she's got some judo guys and a coach who doesn't pay taxes. I'm not sure if they truly helped her rise, or whether her rise was inevitable due to her natural physical abilities.

As a part of Team Hayastan, she is in the gym with the likes of...well, I've never actually heard of anyone listed on the Sherdog page. But they have tough nicknames like Silverback, The Chainsaw, and, um, Grasshopper? Come on, guys, if you're not a great fighter, at least get a good nickname. She also trains at Glendale Fighting Club, which lists her boyfriend, Travis Browne as a member, but he's a recent addition, so it's not like the gym can really take credit for any of his success.

So, looking at what both gyms have produced for professional fighters, it is Ronda Rousey, and only Ronda Rousey. That's not a great sign.

Since Rousey began in MMA, she has been a force of nature. She physically overwhelmed everyone who fought her, as the only person who lasted more than a round was Miesha Tate, and she was only able to do that on her second try. Let's face it, if Ronda Rousey had not gotten better from her first fight to her last fight, her record would probably be the same. Her judo background meant that she was simply that much better than her opponents.

Now, don't get me wrong. Her strikes are way better than they used to be, but how much of that is coaching and how much of that is just that she's a phenomenal athlete, so of course, with practice, she would become much better at striking. I happen to think it might be more of the latter.

And even with those strides, her ground game will always be better than her striking, probably much, much...much better than her striking. And with good coaches, wouldn't one of the main goals be using strikes to set up a clinch where she can go for a takedown? Yet, in the Holm fight, Rousey showed no real inclination for that, as her punches were wild, and she kept getting taking punches right down the middle of her defense. In between the first and second round, did you hear her corner giving her some great advice to turn things around? Nope, they basically sounded like me giving fight advice, as they were more cheerleaders than coaches.

I think Ronda Rousey is the most physically talented female fighter in the world. That doesn't mean she is the best, as even with better coaching, Holly Holm is SUPER good. But with Rousey's skillset, there is no reason she should ever get overwhelmed like that. With better coaching, I think it could be a different fight, but if she isn't willing to make that significant change, I don't think anything will change if she fights Holm again.

Ronda Rousey is great, but I don't think she reaches her full potential without getting out of her comfort zone and finding a camp that can help her be her best.