Ben Askren Has Strong Opinion on Charles Oliveira's BMF Title Winning Performance

Despite his acclaimed wrestling background, Ben Askren expressed disappointment with Charles Oliveira's grappling-dominant display during his BMF title clash against Max Holloway at UFC 326.

Askren, known as 'Funky,' enjoyed a distinguished collegiate wrestling career with the Missouri Tigers, achieving a 155-8 record and securing two NCAA Division I championships. His relentless approach, combined with technical prowess and consistency, has solidified his reputation as one of the greatest collegiate wrestlers of all time.

Given his deep roots in the sport, many might have expected Askren to praise Oliveira's performance. However, Askren has joined the growing chorus of critics voicing dissatisfaction with Oliveira's wrestling-heavy victory over Max Holloway, which occurred on March 7.

"This is going to be wild coming from me. Real wild," Askren admitted. He went as far as to suggest radical rule modifications for BMF title bouts, proposing a "three-takedown maximum" or a time limit for ground control. He concluded his assessment firmly: "No, [I didn't like the fight]; it was boring. Terribly boring."

Elaborating on his critique, Askren explained that the nature of it being a BMF fight made Oliveira's approach feel "weird." He further noted that Oliveira, akin to a previous fight involving Khamzat Chimaev, "didn't take chances on top" and lacked genuine aggression in his ground game.

Askren then pondered Oliveira's rationale for prioritizing takedowns, even though he appeared to be winning the striking exchanges. He theorized, "Was he winning the striking because the other guy was scared of the takedown? Like, that's definitely a possibility because Max Holloway had zero ability to get up... 21 minutes on bottom or something like that. It was something crazy," underscoring Holloway's prolonged inability to escape from the mat.