Ben Askren reflects after submission loss to Demian Maia at UFC Singapore

Ben Askren was hoping that a win over submission ace Demian Maia at today’s UFC Singapore event would put him right back into welterweight title contention.

Unfortunately for ‘Funky’, things did not go according to plan against the Brazilian submission specialist.

After being outpointed on the feet in round one, Askren decided to use his strong wrestling skills to take Maia to the Octagon canvas.

However, each time that Ben Askren took the fight to the floor, the crafty Brazilian would sweep him and wind up taking dominant position. This theme played out again in round three, where Demian Maia swept Ben Askren and proceeded to take his back and lock in a rear-naked choke. That submission hold would ultimately put ‘Funky’ to sleep, marking only his second career defeat in mixed martial arts.

Shorty following the conclusion of today’s UFC Singapore event, Ben Askren spoke with backstage about today’s disappointing fight with Demian Maia.

"There's a reason why he's the best grappler in the division, possibly in MMA history." @BenAskren reflects after his submission loss at #UFCSingapore pic.twitter.com/S8bYou6Zum

— UFC (@ufc) October 26, 2019

“Yeah, I mean kind of as we planned, there was a couple of positions, I would have like to get to a Muay Thai clinch more often, but he was able to stay out of that. But, I was landing the punches I wanted to land. I was landing my uppercut really well and then I was getting takedowns. I think I had four or five takedowns I believe,” Ben Askren said. “And then I made a really bad decision. I remember thinking I won the first round. You know, but who knows that the judges say, they are crazy. But I felt like I won the first two rounds and when I got reversed in the third round, I looked up at the clock and thought oh I have a minute left. Ok so I have to get a reversal to win this round. And we had obviously trained so much back in camp and I had a really good jiu-jitsu guy and I guess I was overconfident. I guess there is a reason he is the best grappler in the division, possibly in MMA ever. You know I was fairly confident that when I went for that reversal I was going to get it. But I didn’t, I failed and that was obviously the outcome.”

Askren would also take to Twitter with the following message for his fans.

Made a bad decision and I failed. Sorry to everyone who I let down.

— Funky (@Benaskren) October 26, 2019

With today’s loss Ben Askren falls to 19-2 in his mixed martial arts career. Since joining the UFC ranks in 2019, ‘Funky’ has gone 1-2, with his lone victory coming in controversial fashion to Robbie Lawler at UFC 235.

Who would you like to see former Bellator and ONE champion Ben Askren fight next? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!

October 26, 2019