“They obviously are both memorable, but one of which I would love to forget,” Askren said of his bouts against Masvidal and Robbie Lawler, which ended in a controversial stoppage win for the former Olympian, who has seen opinions of him shift from being a legitimate title threat to people pegging him as a bust in the span of a handful of months.
Coming off a highlight reel loss that has played on a near constant loop within the MMA community since it happened and facing the scrutiny of fickle fans and observers who are now wondering if Askren could go “Three and Out” in the UFC should he lose to Maia in Singapore, does the now once-beaten wrestler feel any added pressure to post a victory that is memorable for all the right reasons as he readies to step back into the cage this weekend?
“I just want to go out there and execute the best I can, regardless of what my previous performances have been,” he said. “I want to fight the best I can and if that happens, I think I’m going to get a really dominant performance.”
And if that happens, Askren will end the year right back where he started — in the thick of the title chase, hunting down the best fights possible and handling everything that comes his way the only way he knows how: head-on.