Ask and you shall receive.
Ben Askren looks to have been handed his next octagon assignment after he announced on Twitter that he is set to face former multiple-weight world title challenger and fourth degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Demian Maia at the UFC Fight Night in Singapore on October 26.
The bout, assuming it is made official, will be Askren’s third in the UFC and his first since suffering his first career defeat in July.
Done deal! Oct 26 we will find out who the best MMA grappler on planet earth is. pic.twitter.com/mzExZDg7MK
— Ben Askren (@Benaskren) August 20, 2019
Former Olympic wrestler Askren is considered to be one of the top grapplers in mixed martial arts, a tag also levied at Maia whose jiu jitsu is, as Joe Rogan might say, at the top of the food chain. Askren is cleared from medical suspension in September following the five-second KO he suffered at the hands (or rather, knee) of Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239 in July.
Following that defeat, Askren swiftly called for a bout with Maia — something that the Brazilian said he was open to on social media.
That’s good to know! Thanks, if they make this fight it’s going to be very exciting and intriguing. I hope it happens, it is the kind of challenge that motivates me to compete.
— Demian Maia (@demianmaia) August 3, 2019
The bout hasn’t yet been announced by the UFC but the location of the contest — Singapore — will be familiar ground for Askren who has competed in the country on three prior occasions during his tenure on the ONE Championship roster.
Maia, 41, recently iterated his thoughts on his MMA career winding down and suggested that Diego Sanchez would be an ideal opponent with which to call time on his spell as a professional fighter but it appears that the challenge of world class grappler Askren has proved too interesting to turn down.
