Connect with us

MMA

RAF 11 live blog: Ben Askren vs. Belal Muhammad

Published

on

RAF 11 live blog: Ben Askren vs. Belal Muhammad

This is the live blog for Ben Askren vs. Belal Muhammad, the co-main event wrestling match at Saturday's RAF 11 card in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A two-time NCAA Div. 1 national champion and two-time Dan Hodge trophy winner, Askren is one of the most accomplished wrestlers to ever fight in MMA, also competing in the 2008 Olympics. Askren parlayed that wrestling ability into world championships for ONE and Bellator, before finally moving to the UFC for a short run before retiring. Unfortunately, tragedy struck Askren last year when he was hospitalized with severe pneumonia, ultimately requiring a lung transplant. Now back to health, Askren is taking this match as a one-off, a bout that seems more about its message than the result of the match.

A former UFC welterweight champion, Muhammad wrestled in high school but not past that, though his MMA career was defined by his wrestling chops. Muhammad also has history with Askren, training with him during their MMA careers, making this bout perhaps less of a heated engagement than a fun farewell match for Askren.

Check out the live blog for Tsarukyan vs. Covington below.

Here comes Belal first. Fireworks and Muhammad is hyped up for this match. But Ben Askren is next as the crowd goes nuts. The comeback story is real here and the crowd is eating it up. Belal Muhammad won't have many friends in the crowd tonight. Ben Askren soaking it in before he walks to the mat for what is perhaps the final time. The fact that Askren is here is insane in its own way.

The announcer is giving the crowd the introductions and here we go!

Askren is commanding the center early and forcing Belal to shoot first. Funk soon? Askren is tying up against Belal and actually looks strong. Muhammad gets put on the shot clock early. Belal shoots from too far out and fails. Askren gets on the board early with Belal Muhammad failing to score on the clock. Askren shucks Muhammad by.

End of the round, Ben Askren is up 1-0.

Second period begins and Belal comes out more active. Muhammad shoots and fails to get though to the legs of Askren. Ben Askren shoots on the hips and scores on Muhammad with a push out! This is crazy that it's not over! Another point for Askren as he throws Muhammad out at the edge with the whizzer. Muhammad jumps in on a front head lock and Askren does a good job of reastling up and stays square. Askren is looking fantastic!

We are two periods through and Belal Muhammad has not scored yet! Askren up 3-0!

THIRD PERIOD! LET'S GO! Askren shoots and Muhammad stuffs. Muhammad shoots and gets the double leg to score two. One point spread!. Askren shoots again to another Belal sprawl. Askren looking for some funk but the referee calls it a stale mate. Askren scores again and Belal sprawls again. Belal Muhammad gets the go-behind. He's now up 4-3. Down to 30! ANY MAGIC? Askren shoots on the single and gets sprawled on again. Muhammad looking for the go behind again. Looks like Muhammad scores two but Askren's coach throws the brick. Doesn't matter, Muhammad wins!

Insane wrestling from both sides to see what Askren comes from. He looks anguished on the side but Ben Askren put on a fantastic performance.

Belal Muhammad defeats Ben Askren, 6-3.

“It's Ben's birthday. He came back from death. This should be a standing ovation,†Muhammad says in his post fight interview with Chael Sonnen. “Every day you have a new day of sunlight, that's a new day to live, a new day to fight.â€

Belal Muhammad continues, “We got a bitch going into the main event, his name is Colby Covington. I will find him and I will stomp on his neck until he stops breathing.â€

Now the arena is singing Happy Birthday to Askren. Chael got some pipes.

We've moved to Askren's interview. “I get tired fast these days,†says Askren who just went three rounds with a former UFC welterweight champion.

“For sure my last time on the mat. I love you guys, I really do,†Askren says as he takes his shoes off to leave on the mat a final time. Ben Askren's “I worked hard as shit in the last year,†Askren said. His comeback was incredible and as he leaves his shoes in the middle of the mat, the crowd goes crazy.

Ben Askren's career is a peculiar one. Not the most athletic, he became an American legend with his mind. His patented funk wrestling changed the mind of the “experts†who thought they knew how to wrestle. A World Champion and an Olympian, Askren's impact will never be forgotten.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

MMA

UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2, Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy live stream watch party

Published

on

UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2, Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy live stream watch party

MMA Fighting has a live stream watch party for Saturday's UFC 331 event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. In the main event, Joshua Van defends his flyweight title in a rematch against the man he won the championship from, Alexandre Pantoja in a heated rematch.

Join MMA Fighting's Mike Heck and Jed Meshew as they watch the main card and more for the promotion's upcoming numbered event in the City of Angels.

In the co-main event, top lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan faces knockout artist Mauricio Ruffy in a high-stakes, five-round contest.

Additionally, former Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull takes on Doo Ho Choi in the featherweight featured contest, while Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson battles Sean Sharaf in a heavyweight bout.

The UFC 331 main card opens with a light heavyweight tilt between Alonzo Menifield and Iwo Baraniewski.

Watch MMA Fighting's UFC 330 live stream Watch Party beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT with the featured preliminary fight between Marlon Vera and Charles Jourdain.

Continue Reading

MMA

Anything but Fighting: Edmen Shahbazyan answers random questions

Published

on

Anything but Fighting: Edmen Shahbazyan answers random questions

LOS ANGELES — UFC middleweight contender Edmen Shahbazyan joins MMA Fighting's Jose Youngs on #AnythingButFighting to talk about his favorite movies, music, foods, concerts, and more.

Shahbazyan (16-6) is looking to get back into the win column against Brunno Ferreira on the preliminary card of UFC 331. “The Golden Boy†previously dropped a unanimous decision win to Brendan Allen, snapping his three-fight win streak in the process. To date, Shahbazyan holds notable wins over Andre Petroski, André Muniz, Jack Hermansson, Brad Tavares, and Jack Marshman.

Continue Reading

MMA

Dana White says Ciryl Gane won’t be promoted to undisputed champion: ‘He’s still got to fight’

Published

on

Dana White says Ciryl Gane won’t be promoted to undisputed champion: ‘He’s still got to fight’

Ciryl Gane is NOT the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion.

On Monday, Tom Aspinall vacated his UFC heavyweight title after reinjuring his eyes in training, forcing him out of action indefinitely. As such, many expected that interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane — the man who caused Aspinall's original eye injuries when he poked him during their heavyweight title fight at UFC 321 — would be elevated to undisputed champion and then defend his belt; but not so fast.

“Does it make him the undisputed champion?†White asked when questioned about Gane. “No. He's still got to fight.â€

White added that he expects Gane's next fight, the bout for the title of undisputed champion, will be announced “very soon.â€

Ostensibly, Aspinall could face the winner of whatever that potential bout is, should he be ready to return to action by then. But White has no timeline on when that might be.

“I don't [know],†White said when asked how long Aspinall's will be out for. “Obviously, whenever he feels healthy again, whenever his eyes are healed, then we're ready for him.â€

Gane won the interim heavyweight title with a TKO win over Alex Pereira at UFC White House this summer. It was expected that Gane and Aspinall would unify their titles in a rematch this year, before Aspinall's setback ended those plans.

As for the rest of the heavyweight division, Aspinall's latest update seems to have left the UFC scrambling, with White not having a clear path forward, but saying the UFC will figure it out.

“We'll see how this whole thing plays out with Aspinall,†White said. “Ciryl will fight, and we'll see who becomes the champion. This isn't like this is the first time this has ever happened, and it's happening right now with Valentina Shevchenko, too. This is nothing new. This happens sometimes, and it's unfortunate. Not the best outcome, but it is what it is.â€

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending