Of these top Bellator fighters, which do you think would have the most success in the UFC: Michael Chandler Eddie Alvarez Pat Curran Ben Askren Cole Konrad Hector Lombard Zach Makovsky or someone else. Personally Lombard would get my vote. He is an exposive striker incredible grappling skills. The dude is a former Judo Olympian and is a BJJ black belt. He hasn't lost since dropping a decision to Moussasi way back in 2006. He has two fights left with Bellator. Hopefully he makes the jump to the UFC after that. He would be a fun match-up for Anderson Silva or anyone at 185.
Interesting. Askren would definitely be my number 2 pick. He knows he's a wrestler and he doesn't mind boring his way to a decision. He'd have some tough UFC match-ups at 170 though. I'd love to see his wrestling against guys like Koscheck, Fitch, Shields, GSP, etc. I have a feeling that Michael Chandler might end up being the best of the bunch but he's got a ways to go. One thing is for certain, Bellator has a talented roster. It would be terrible for them to lost Alvarez and Lombard however. Both guys have 2 fights left on their contracts and will be tough to keep.
I dont think Chandler would because he would be just like the other wrestlers who think they can strike. Askren knows what he is and optimizes what he does best, and that is at a WORLD CLASS level. Boring as it is, it is very effective.
askren was an unorthodox wrestler in college. his flexibility also allowed him to have great success in no gi grappling and he's an elite bjj level guy. his greatest advantage is that unlike most bjj guys, he has great takedowns, takedown defense and knows how to scramble. i think of him as a more versatile version of jon fitch. effective, but still boring as shit.
The thing that impresses me the more about Askren is that he is impossible to keep in your guard. The dude passes opponent's guards basically at will.
Isn't the answer going to be Lombard? Curran and Konrad would be at the bottom of those listed. Then Makovksy and Alvarez. Then Chandler. Then Askren. And then Lombard at the top. I like Askren the most, but he's a submission waiting to happen.
I lombard at the top too, but you really think Askren is an easy submission? I don't get where you see that. His ground game is world class. His wrestling is so dominant, I just cant see where you think he would be an easy sub. IMO, you would have to be a world class BJJ practitioner with crazy speed to catch Askren. I could see you saying he's a KO waiting to happen. Just don't see a sub.
I think it's clear that he isn't an easy submission. I just think he is a submission waiting to happen because he is so confident in his abilities that he puts himself in positions to get submitted far more often than he should. I think it's inevitable that trait will cost him.
Yep...... It's kind of like Fedor against Werdum. Askren will eventually have that "holy shit" moment when he realizes he ain't getting out of that triangle. ::
Guess we can scratch Makovsky off that list. He was easily choked out last night by Eduardo Dantas while trying to defend his Bellator Bantamweight title. Dantas might end up being an elite fighter. Those Nova Uniao fighters are really cluttering the ranks. Bellator Champions are having a rough go of it. Alvarez lost his LW belt. Warren lost his FW belt. Makovsky lost last night. And even Christian M'Pumbu, the LHW champ, lost his last time out in a non-title bout. Thank goodness Askren and Lombard are dominant.
Ohhh, I get it , I totally took your post wrong. Yeah, he is waaaay over confident in his ground game. Although, I do think it will take a real slick BJJ guy to sink something in real tight on him. For some reason I see it being an arm bar.
