Demian Maia doesn’t feel Ben Askren should retire yet.
Late last month, Maia and Askren headlined UFC Singapore in Kallang. Askren was hoping to rebound from his five-second knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal, while Maia wanted to extend his winning streak to three. The latter happened as Maia choked out Askren in the third round.
Maia Thinks Askren Has A Lot Of Fight Left In Him
Maia was a guest on the latest edition of ESPN’s Ariel Helwani MMA Show. On the show, Maia explained why he feels Askren shouldn’t hang up his gloves just yet.
“I think he’s still pretty tough. The problem is when he lost to Masvidal a lot of people think, ‘ah he lost in five seconds,’ this kind of thing. But that happens. Everybody knows everybody that fights, a knockout can happen. It doesn’t mean that you’re not good and I think he’s one of the toughest guys in the division, and I think he should keep fighting.”
Maia then went into details on what makes Askren a tough out for the 170-pound division.
“His game is very hard for everyone in the division. Especially to the guys who [don’t] know really well grappling because he’s gonna take you down for sure, and the way he strikes people don’t understand well. But how he hides his head and how he closes the distance. It’s something that is awkward to figure out. It’s not easy. People just think, ‘oh this guy strikes. He has a beautiful style,’ and people say they think they’re a good striker, but he uses his striking efficiently to do what he wants which is get in the clinch.”
