Whenever the words “wrestling” and “UFC” are mentioned together in one sentence, a lot of people start associating them with the lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
However, it appears that this isn’t the case for Ben Askren, who left Makhachev out of his list of the UFC’s best wrestlers.

Namely, in a recent interview with James Lynch, Askren stated that despite the fact that the Dagestani national is uniquely capable of wrestling, he still has to climb a “relatively high level” to be included on the list.
Here’s what he said:

It’s so hard with them because I mean obviously… Him and Khabib, they crush people with wrestling.

But you know, you asked me from a wrestling perspective and without seeing them you know, even Chimaev who I think they all in the area they all grow up wrestling… But without seeing them at a relatively high level, it’s hard to say.

Askren added:

Because there’s even been some guys who, I mean, like GSP – probably will be the most prime example who have almost no wrestling background but yet used takedowns really really well.

But you know, that doesn’t always translate into regular wrestling. It’s correlated probably but it’s not a direct translation.

Ben Askren, 2x NCAA Champion (4x NCAA finalist) is one of the most recognized wrestlers in the world. Ben is notorious for being extremely technical and an extremely great instructor.

Check out Ben Askren’s instructional series “Ultimate Askren.“. Ben Askren was an NCAA D-1 Wrestler and is notorious for being one of the greatest and most technical wrestlers on the planet

Ben is a well seasoned combat veteran with an excellent system for bringing someone down to the ground.
Ben makes it easy to implement wrestling on anybody, no matter their size, skill, or athletic level.