# Ben Askren Has a Message for Nate Marquardt: ‘Bring It’



## Indestructibl3

http://mmaweekly.com/bellator-champion-ben-askren-has-a-message-for-nate-marquardt-bring-it



> It all started with Nate Marquardt discussing his hormone replacement therapy and explaining why he was pulled from the UFC on Versus 4 card in Pittsburgh two weeks ago.
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> From there, a storm of responses started from fighters both supporting and decrying what Marquardt said about his low testosterone and need for treatment to return to full health.
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> Former UFC champion B.J. Penn voiced his disproval through Twitter, and has largely been an opponent of all performance enhancing drugs throughout his career. The other major name that took opposition to Marquardt on that day was Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren.
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> The former Olympian took to his Twitter account and addressed Marquardt directly writing “you are a cheater, not once but frequently. Stop cheating, come to Bellator and I will crush you.”
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> Speaking further on the subject when appearing on MMAWeekly Radio, Askren took Marquardt to task for his statement about needing testosterone therapy. He believes the former UFC middleweight contender simply isn’t telling the truth about the situation.
> *
> “I think it’s pretty clear, he failed not one, but two tests. I think it becomes very, very clear when his coach Trevor Wittman is coming out and saying things that goes against what he’s doing. If your coach ain’t got your back, who’s got your back? I think it’s pretty clear to me as many excuses as he makes that he was cheating and this is not the first time he’s got caught,” Askren said.
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> “The worst thing about it is that he just keeps lying. Own up to it, be a man, take care of your responsibilities, you did wrong, you’ve got to admit to it.”
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> The other test that Askren is speaking about is a 2005 drug test that Marquardt failed following his UFC debut fight against Ivan Salaverry. The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Marquardt for five months after he tested positive for banned substances.
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> Askren, who was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team that has gone through stringent drug testing throughout his collegiate and Olympic career, has seen cheating go on at many MMA gyms all over the world.
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> “It’s pretty obvious. I’ve been around the block. I travel a lot to gyms. I think cheating with performance enhancing drugs runs rampant in the MMA world, and I’m okay with that, that’s their decision,” Askren stated. “I wouldn’t do it. I think there are long-term ramifications in your career, and the fact that they’re choosing to take the easy way out as opposed to training themselves naturally, that’s also going to have an effect on them long-term, that they didn’t do it themselves, that they had something helping them.”*
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> The former Missouri wrestler and NCAA All-American doesn’t even mind so much that fighters are taking performance enhancing drugs as much as they won’t own up to their mistakes when they get busted.
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> “What I have a real issue with is when someone gets caught, you’re supposed to be a grown man. You’re supposed to be a man and part of being a man is taking responsibility for your actions. When you get caught and you just constantly lie, and lie, and lie, it’s like come on dude, just own up, be a man,” said Askren.*
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> As far as his beef with Nate Marquardt, Ben Askren has a very simple solution to offer the former UFC fighter.
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> *“Bring it,” Askren said to Marquardt. “I want to be the best in the world and the only way to be the best in the world is to fight the people that are the best. Nate Marquardt, come on.
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> “He can’t beat wrestlers. He can’t beat a good wrestler. So I’ll take him down, I’ll wear him out, and hopefully for the fans around the world I will submit him so they don’t call me a blanket fighter.”*
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> Whether the fight actually happens or not remains to be seen, but Askren doesn’t mind backing up his strong words in the cage, and he’s left an open invite for Marquardt to come to Bellator and challenge him.


I really hope Marquardt signs with Bellator and Askren gets the fight he wants. Askren via decision.


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## The Horticulturist

Indestructibl3 said:


> http://mmaweekly.com/bellator-champion-ben-askren-has-a-message-for-nate-marquardt-bring-it
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> 
> 
> I really hope Marquardt signs with Bellator and Askren gets the fight he wants. *Askren via decision.*


I don't have much doubt about that either.

I'd still love to see Nate at WW to see how he performs.


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## Fine Wine

I think Askren may be good enough to beat Nate down the track, but Nate has better Jitz, will be tough as hell to take down at WW and has far superior stand up. I would have to think Nate will be the favourite here and rightfully so. A fight I would love to see no doubt. That or Nate staying at middle and fighting Lombard.


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## Liddellianenko

Fine Wine said:


> I think Askren may be good enough to beat Nate down the track, but Nate has better Jitz, will be tough as hell to take down at WW and has far superior stand up. I would have to think Nate will be the favourite here and rightfully so. A fight I would love to see no doubt. That or Nate staying at middle and fighting Lombard.


So the same Nate that got badly owned by all wrestlers he's faced is suddenly a favorite against the most accomplished wrestler in MMA history? 

Askren's wrestling creds make the likes of Sonnen, Koscheck, Hughes etc. look like dirt. He is an Olympic runner up in _freestyle_ wrestling, which is a far broader and more competitive style than Greco. There is a Greco Olympic medalist in MMA (Lindland), but Askren is the only freestyler in MMA with creds that high. The next best thing are "almost" olympians like King Mo and Koscheck.

And I know Nate's a MW cutting down more and may be "bigger" supposedly (though in his past fights we've seen that is just bodybuider mass and not functional grappling power). But IMO even that doesn't matter when the fight is actually at 170. If he comes in bigger, he also comes in far more drained and tired. If he cuts muscle mass, then he's no longer bigger. Askren is as big a WW as is healthy anyway.

Personally I think Nate the mediocre Marquart would get owned quite badly and Askren would finally have a high level win under his belt. Which is why Nate will probably duck this fight even if it gets offered to him.


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## Indestructibl3

Liddellianenko said:


> So the same Nate that got badly owned by all wrestlers he's faced is suddenly a favorite against the most accomplished wrestler in MMA history?
> 
> Askren's wrestling creds make the likes of Sonnen, Koscheck, Hughes etc. look like dirt. *He is an Olympic runner up in freestyle wrestling*, which is a far broader and more competitive style than Greco. There is a Greco Olympic medalist in MMA (Lindland), but Askren is the only freestyler in MMA with creds that high. The next best thing are "almost" olympians like King Mo and Koscheck.
> 
> And I know Nate's a MW cutting down more and may be "bigger" supposedly (though in his past fights we've seen that is just bodybuider mass and not functional grappling power). But IMO even that doesn't matter when the fight is actually at 170. If he comes in bigger, he also comes in far more drained and tired. If he cuts muscle mass, then he's no longer bigger. Askren is as big a WW as is healthy anyway.
> 
> Personally I think Nate the mediocre Marquart would get owned quite badly and Askren would finally have a high level win under his belt. Which is why Nate will probably duck this fight even if it gets offered to him.


Just to be clear, he didn't win a silver medal at the Olympics (not discrediting Askren at all, just saying).


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## Liddellianenko

Indestructibl3 said:


> Just to be clear, he didn't win a silver medal at the Olympics (not discrediting Askren at all, just saying).


Which is why i said runner-up and not (silver) medalist. It's common terminology, runner up in Olympics means 4th place. 

EDIT: just realized he was a quarter-finalist in 2008, not 4th place (semi-finalist), so you got me but still pretty huge achievement and unparalleled in MMA.

Also forgot to mention he is a Wrestling World Championship gold medalist the following year, which is almost as good as an Olympics gold. To put it in perspective, even Cael Sanderson only managed to get a Silver at the World championships, and he is considered the greatest wrestler of all time alongside Dan Gable.

Personally I think if Askren kept up training he could still make Olympic gold in 2012, 08 was just his first attempt and he choked. 

As for the likes of Marquardt, I think he'll make him look downright ridiculous on the ground. In addition to his obvious wrestling edge Askren is already a brown belt in BJJ, and Marquardt is a one-dimensional black belt with nothing off his back.


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## SmackyBear

Liddellianenko said:


> Which is why i said runner-up and not (silver) medalist. It's common terminology, runner up in Olympics means 4th place.
> 
> EDIT: just realized he was a quarter-finalist in 2008, not 4th place (semi-finalist), so you got me but still pretty huge achievement and unparalleled in MMA.
> 
> Also forgot to mention he is a Wrestling World Championship gold medalist the following year, which is almost as good as an Olympics gold. To put it in perspective, even Cael Sanderson only managed to get a Silver at the World championships, and he is considered the greatest wrestler of all time alongside Dan Gable.
> 
> Personally I think if Askren kept up training he could still make Olympic gold in 2012, 08 was just his first attempt and he choked.
> 
> As for the likes of Marquardt, I think he'll make him look downright ridiculous on the ground. In addition to his obvious wrestling edge Askren is already a brown belt in BJJ, and Marquardt is a one-dimensional black belt with nothing off his back.


His Olympic Freestyle finish isn't exactly unparalleled in MMA. Mark Coleman had the same finish and had a silver in the worlds at freestyle. Daniel Cormier actually made it one step further than Askren and finished 4th in the Olympics and had a bronze at the worlds in freestyle.

Askren's World Championship gold in 2009 wasn't in freestyle wrestling. It was in No-Gi Grappling. Not saying it wasn't impressive, but beating Nick Ring and Jacob Volkman in grappling isn't the same as beating the best in the world in freestyle wrestling.

Not trying to take anything away from Askren. He's a great wrestler and I expect big things from him in MMA. But his international wrestling career isn't exactly unparalleled in MMA, even when only considering freestyle wrestlers who are currently active.


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## Liddellianenko

SmackyBear said:


> His Olympic Freestyle finish isn't exactly unparalleled in MMA. Mark Coleman had the same finish and had a silver in the worlds at freestyle. Daniel Cormier actually made it one step further than Askren and finished 4th in the Olympics and had a bronze at the worlds in freestyle.
> 
> Askren's World Championship gold in 2009 wasn't in freestyle wrestling. It was in No-Gi Grappling. Not saying it wasn't impressive, but beating Nick Ring and Jacob Volkman in grappling isn't the same as beating the best in the world in freestyle wrestling.
> 
> Not trying to take anything away from Askren. He's a great wrestler and I expect big things from him in MMA. But his international wrestling career isn't exactly unparalleled in MMA, even when only considering freestyle wrestlers who are currently active.


Ah thanks for clarifying that, I need to read the fine print more.


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## St.Paul Guy

Yea his folkstyle wrestling credentials are considerably ahead of everyone in MMA, though. That is super impressive when considering how many collegiate wrestlers there are in the MMA world.


oh and Askren would destroy Marquardt.:thumb02:


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## anderton46

Lets remember that your wrestling credentials don't mean shit till you get in a ring and see how you can translate that into the MMA game. That being said Askren has shown so far in his career that he has had no problem utilising his wrestling. 

I'd expect Askren to get the decision win here for sure. I'd much rather see Lombard fight Nate though, just because Lombard is so exciting to watch.


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## Fine Wine

Liddellianenko said:


> So the same Nate that got badly owned by all wrestlers he's faced.


Ummmmmm, which are these wrestlers that have owned Nate over the last several years? Chael would handle Askren also. 

Okami didn't exactly outwrestle Nate for that win. 

So we have Chael, a much bigger man than Ben and possibly the best wrestler in MMA period.

Nate is way ahead of Ben anytime this is on the feet and he has BJJ lightyears ahead of Ben, who hasn't faced anybody nearly as dangerous as Nate in that department.

I just don't see how this is such an easy call on Ben. I would think Nate would be the favourite here.


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## Liddellianenko

Fine Wine said:


> Ummmmmm, which are these wrestlers that have owned Nate over the last several years? Chael would handle Askren also.
> 
> Okami didn't exactly outwrestle Nate for that win.
> 
> So we have Chael, a much bigger man than Ben and possibly the best wrestler in MMA period.
> 
> Nate is way ahead of Ben anytime this is on the feet and he has BJJ lightyears ahead of Ben, who hasn't faced anybody nearly as dangerous as Nate in that department.
> 
> I just don't see how this is such an easy call on Ben. I would think Nate would be the favourite here.


Izuru Takeuchi and Kiuma_Kunioku are also primarily wrestlers and they have multiple wins and draws over Nate.

Okami may not have outwrestled per se but as far as I remember he did utilize the clinch and tie ups a lot which is based off wrestling control as well.

As far as Sonnen being a better wrestler than Askren, that's pure opinion. Askren has far better creds and a much more unorthodox and effective wrestling style, something that made him infamous in his wrestling career. 

Sonnen is bigger than Askren yeah, but Marquardt was bigger than him and still got manhandled. People who mention size advantage of weight cutters always seem to forget that the fight will be AT Askren's optimum weight of 170 lbs. That means Nate will have to lose a lot of his muscle mass / stamina to make the fight. 

In real terms it comes down to the same thing. Nate at 170 vs Askren will be proportionally smaller.


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## Fine Wine

All good points, but those losses were a long time ago now (and were they in a ring, i.e. ropes? Much easier to take somebody down than in a cage). Nate isn't an easy guy to just dump on his azz, plus he can submit you and he has decent stand-up and could be very dangerous to Askren anytime this is on the feet (see Maia or Kampmann).

Also, you don't loose muscle mass to cut weight, absolutely not. That has a devestating effect on you. You diet very carefully for this and ensure the right intake of foods and portion sizes. It is more about cutting water to make weight. As long as you cut weight right (and perhaps Nate may not be able to make 170 without being too drained), it will always give you a relative advantage over a naturally smaller guy (hence people do it).

As for Sonnen, watching his old fights, his wrestling was average compared to how it is now. Some mention the roids (which may be true), or perhaps he has just adapted it better to MMA over the years. Either way, his wreslting now is freaky in MMA and a lot different to when he came into the sport green as a wrestler which is where Askren is at now.


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## Liddellianenko

Fine Wine said:


> All good points, but those losses were a long time ago now (and were they in a ring, i.e. ropes? Much easier to take somebody down than in a cage). Nate isn't an easy guy to just dump on his azz, plus he can submit you and he has decent stand-up and could be very dangerous to Askren anytime this is on the feet (see Maia or Kampmann).
> 
> Also, you don't loose muscle mass to cut weight, absolutely not. That has a devestating effect on you. You diet very carefully for this and ensure the right intake of foods and portion sizes. It is more about cutting water to make weight. As long as you cut weight right (and perhaps Nate may not be able to make 170 without being too drained), it will always give you a relative advantage over a naturally smaller guy (hence people do it).
> 
> As for Sonnen, watching his old fights, his wrestling was average compared to how it is now. Some mention the roids (which may be true), or perhaps he has just adapted it better to MMA over the years. Either way, his wreslting now is freaky in MMA and a lot different to when he came into the sport green as a wrestler which is where Askren is at now.


Also true, Sonnen has improved a lot sinze his wrestling career. 

But as far as Nate submitting Askren goes, or Askren being a "green" wrestler in MMA, I don't see it.

I mean Askren is already a Brown Belt in BJJ and that's phenomenal considering how short a time he's been at it. And he's obviously far better at it than Sonnen who has some of the worst sub-defence in MMA history, and even he wasn't so much as threatened by Nate's subs.


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## Fine Wine

Yes green was probably a bit stronger word. I meant it in comparison to the experience Sonnen has now (and the same goes for Nate).

Anyways, this may all be a mute point, because by the looks of it, Coker is talking about Nate being signed with SF. One way of keeping Nate under the Zuffa banner whilst looking like the UFC is punishing roid users. They will just merge him back accross to the UFC when they do a SF merger down the rd. Dana is a smart man.


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## Liddellianenko

Ah crap there goes that train. What a soap opera artist Dana turned out to be.


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## St.Paul Guy

Fine Wine said:


> Ummmmmm, which are these wrestlers that have owned Nate over the last several years? *Chael would handle Askren also. *
> 
> Okami didn't exactly outwrestle Nate for that win.
> 
> So we have Chael, a much bigger man than Ben and possibly the best wrestler in MMA period.
> 
> Nate is way ahead of Ben anytime this is on the feet and he has* BJJ lightyears ahead of Ben*, who hasn't faced anybody nearly as dangerous as Nate in that department.
> 
> I just don't see how this is such an easy call on Ben. I would think Nate would be the favourite here.


1) In any type of wrestling outside of Greco Roman Ben would likely beat Chael.

2) :laugh:


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## Indestructibl3

Fine Wine said:


> All good points, but those losses were a long time ago now (and were they in a ring, i.e. ropes? Much easier to take somebody down than in a cage). Nate isn't an easy guy to just dump on his azz, plus he can submit you and he has decent stand-up and could be very dangerous to Askren anytime this is on the feet (see Maia or Kampmann).
> 
> Also, you don't loose muscle mass to cut weight, absolutely not. That has a devestating effect on you. You diet very carefully for this and ensure the right intake of foods and portion sizes. It is more about cutting water to make weight. As long as you cut weight right (and perhaps Nate may not be able to make 170 without being too drained), it will always give you a relative advantage over a naturally smaller guy (hence people do it).
> 
> As for Sonnen, watching his old fights, his wrestling was average compared to how it is now. Some mention the roids (which may be true), or perhaps he has just adapted it better to MMA over the years. Either way, his wreslting now is freaky in MMA and a lot different to *when he came into the sport green as a wrestler which is where Askren is at now.*












Nuff said.


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## Fine Wine

St.Paul Guy said:


> 1) In any type of wrestling outside of Greco Roman Ben would likely beat Chael.
> 
> 2) :laugh:


What about MMA wrestling? Askren still has a lot more to show :bye02:

Indestructable, see my next comment about 'green', my bad for wrong use of word.


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## St.Paul Guy

Fine Wine said:


> What about MMA wrestling? Askren still has a lot more to show :bye02:
> 
> Indestructable, see my next comment about 'green', my bad for wrong use of word.


Askren is a better wrestler in the context of MMA too. Trust me. Askren was possibly the best NCAA wrestler since Cael Sanderson. 

In a MMA fight between Chael and Ben Chael would probably win, but that would be a size issue mostly. It wouldn't surprise me if Ben subbed Chael, though.


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## Fine Wine

You rate him very highly St. Paul and appear to know more than me about him so I will take your word.


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## St.Paul Guy

Fine Wine said:


> You rate him very highly St. Paul and appear to know more than me about him so I will take your word.


Don't get me wrong it's debatable, and I'll readily admit my mancrush on Askren. I just think his unparalleled credentials and more versatile takdowns give him an edge.


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## CarlosCondit

If it somehow happens, after Marquardt's suspension is lifted, it would be one of the best matches this year. Book it! :}


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## SmackyBear

CarlosCondit said:


> If it somehow happens, after Marquardt's suspension is lifted, it would be one of the best matches this year. Book it! :}


His suspension from Pennsylvania is over. But he isn't the right fit for Bellator, according to Bjorn Rebney.



> "The reality is that it's not often that a top-10 guy is available ... especially when he's coming off a win," Rebney said. "Nate's situation was pretty unique. It's an anomaly for a guy like that to become available, so we had discussions. But it just became pretty clear it wasn't the right fit."


Source

I have no idea what the right fit means. Money? Didn't want the incredibly long Bellator contract? Don't want to be dependant on his TRT getting approved? No clue.


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## CarlosCondit

^ Maybe he still thinks "Papa Dana Zeus" will let him back into heaven, but it's just so right for him and his career to do something on his own at this point and sign with Bellator... although it sounds like he will play the role of the good boy and keep training in Jackson's, until he's brought back into the UFC.


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## Fine Wine

SF will sign him. It's still a 'seperate entity' or so we are told (obvoiusly not after they scalped Diaz straight off SF). 

Dana will want to keep him under the Zuffa banner.

Unfortunately for Rebney I think 'not the right fit' means money. But he needs a name bad for Hector Lombard, because beating bum after bum is becoming a bit old and Hectors time at the top is running out (his hitting his mid 30s now).


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## kantowrestler

I think Nate will stay outside of Zuffa for now. Seperate or not Dana White still has alot of power in Zuffa. Though I can see what you mean by money when it comes to Rebney and Nate.


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