Askren moves up from the mat

Former wrestler Ben Askren hits the cage for the second time Saturday.

By Nick Forrester

Published April 23, 2009

Two-time NCAA Wrestling Champion and 2008 Olympian Ben Askren is taking his dominance on the mat and taking it to a new arena -- the cage.

Fresh off his professional Mixed Martial Arts debut fight on Feb. 6, which resulted in Askren knocking out opponent Josh Flowers in less than 90 seconds, Askren will now fight in The Patriot Act 2 fight Saturday evening at the Holiday Inn Expo Center in Columbia.

After his last fight, Askren took some time off to help coach the MU wrestling team and claim a school-record five All-Americans at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament. Since the tournament ended on March 21, Askren has been getting ready for Saturday's fight. He will face Mitchell Harris, who currently holds a 1-3 professional record.

"Obviously, my wrestling's up there," Askren said. "My Jiu-Jitsu is getting up there and getting better. I've been doing a lot of sparring and really starting to understand what to do standing up. I'm a lot more comfortable on my feet than I was in February."

Askren, who dominated opponents throughout his wrestling career at Missouri, said the toughness of wrestling is helping him with cage fighting.

Wade Rome, founder of American Top Team in Columbia, was also a successful wrestler before starting in Mixed Martial Arts.

"Wrestlers understand hips, leverage, positioning, etc." Rome said. "But there are some intrinsic things that you are taught in wrestling that are uninviting in MMA. In wrestling, you are taught to give up your back, and if you give up your back in MMA, you're going to end up getting choked out, or maybe worse."

Askren is looking to eventually fight on television, but needs to work his way up.

"I'm just doing the fights here in Columbia to build up my record," Askren said. Asren was told to get three to five fights in, and then they would consider putting him on television.

The American Top Team Training Center here in Columbia is loaded with talent. Along with Askren, it features two Jiu-Jitsu black belts in Rome and Francisco "Kiko" France and a professional boxer in Jake Hecht.

Askren has been a major asset in helping establish American Top Team in Columbia. Along with being one of three founders for The Patriot Act, Askren's name alone attracts people to the training center.

"His name alone brings a lot to American Top Team," Hecht said. "He's an Olympic-quality wrestler. We go to other gyms, and we know that our wrestling is top-notch.

Askren's training consists of working with France on Jiu-Jitsu techniques every morning, and then doing six rounds of five-minute sessions of light fighting on his feet.

"I've never been in a fight for 15 minutes, but I plan on being the aggressor and keeping the pressure high the whole time," Askren said.

Now that his goals of winning an NCAA Wrestling Championship and being an Olympic wrestler have already been accomplished, Askren has his eyes set on obtaining a Jiu-Jitsu black belt in three years.

"With Kiko coaching me, I feel that getting a black belt in three years is a legitimate expectation," Askren said.

Askren is only one of the former Missouri wrestlers training with American Top Team. Former All-American Tyron Woodley had his professional debut in the first Patriot Act, and senior Michael Chandler, fresh off of a fifth place finish at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament, is also training with American Top Team. He hopes his first fight will be this upcoming fall.

"Two years ago I wouldn't have said this, but (MU junior) Mark Ellis is a guy that I think could have some success in this sport," Rome said. "He's a big, strong, well-conditioned heavyweight. I would love to see him get into this sport. Ellis understands not quitting and that's a lot of what this sport is about."

Askren's upcoming fight will be one of 10 on the night, which will feature a mix of both professional and amateur fights.

"I thought the fights ran smoothly," Askren said of the previous Patriot Act. "You didn't see anything that you could've gone to the street and seen. They were all good fights, and we expect the same thing this time around because we're bringing in some good schools that we know can fight."