5 times a UFC fighter’s strategy failed miserably
For UFC fighters, the game plan come fight night is an essential component to get right. The correct strategy and intel regarding an opponent can be make or break in securing a win.
It’s a hard process to work through, a fighter must play up their own strengths whilst exploiting a foe’s weaknesses. For the many genius level fight IQ performances out there, there are others that have proven to be head scratchers.
Coming in well-trained and confident, it can be darkly fascinating to watch a fighter’s once thought foolproof plan crumble. By the end of the battle, it’s clear they realize a major mistake was made somewhere along the way.
Beyond the obvious consequence of a new loss on their record, there’s also the psychological setback of having to rethink everything they once thought they knew.
The following five fighters all have incredibly impressive resumes. Despite their success in the fighting world, none were immune to questionable strategising. Let’s start with someone who found MMA glory everywhere but the UFC:
#5. Ben Askren at UFC 239
Ben Askren went undefeated for ten years in MMA. He picked up welterweight gold in Bellator and ONE Championship before finally jumping ship to the UFC. Askren’s first UFC opponent was announced as Jorge Masvidal, a no-nonsense street fighter who Askren had frequently mocked.
While most of Askren’s jokes about Masvidal’s out-of-ring antics and training were relatively lighthearted, it was clear ‘Gamebred’ was furious. Worse still, Askren aired some ATT dirty laundry when he claimed to have outwrestled Masvidal in training.
Fed up, Masvidal vowed to break Askren’s face come bell time. It’s commonplace for fighters to try and get under one another’s skin and throw each other off. While ‘Funky’ had succeeded admirably in getting into Masvidal’s head, he had only served to motivate the Miami striker to train harder and smarter.
As per usual with Askren, he shot in for the takedown early, hoping to use his Olympian-calibre wrestling to his advantage. As it turns out, the freestyle wrestling ace had grown predictable. Masvidal had been prepping an explosive flying knee to counter a shooting-in Askren.
Just five seconds into the fight, the end bell was rung as Askren was out cold. The once seemingly unbeatable grappler never really recovered from the Masvidal KO. He lost to Demian Maia later that year and was knocked out by Jake Paul in a boxing bout this year. He has since retired from combat sports.