What was Ben Askren's perspective on his loss to Jake Paul?

Ben Askren stated he didn't care much about the loss to Jake Paul, as he pursued the fight for life-changing money and enjoyment during training. He admitted he wasn't skillful enough to win but would likely do it again given the opportunity. He also mentioned his physical condition was not optimal after hip surgery.

How did Ben Askren prepare for his exhibition wrestling match against Jordan Burroughs?

Askren was not in wrestling shape for the Jordan Burroughs exhibition, having focused on MMA training. He viewed it as an opportunity to bring attention and raise money for wrestling, with a personal goal of scoring one takedown or turn, which he did not achieve.

Did Ben Askren suffer any lasting psychological impact from his loss to Jorge Masvidal?

Askren stated that the loss to Masvidal was hard because it prevented him from achieving a title shot he had worked for over a decade. However, he maintained that it didn't change him psychologically, as it was a single move, not a dominant defeat, and he believed he would win most rematches.

How did Ben Askren develop his creative 'funk style' wrestling?

Askren's funk style wrestling developed out of necessity in college when he realized he couldn't match opponents in traditional strength and speed. He obsessed over positions, explored unique body movements, and even visualized 'figures' wrestling in his head to find new techniques.

Does Ben Askren believe AI robots could eventually beat human wrestlers?

Askren believes wrestling is a much harder problem for AI than chess due to its continuous, instantaneous movements, varying forces, angles, and tactile pressure. While robots could theoretically improve rapidly, he thinks the ethical problem of training partners getting hurt and the sheer complexity of grappling make it extremely difficult.

Why is Ben Askren frustrated with the broadcasting of major wrestling events?

Askren is frustrated because major wrestling events like the NCAA Championships, Olympic Trials, and Olympics are inaccessible. Large broadcasting companies like ESPN and NBC hold the rights but don't provide a platform for fans to watch full matches or old footage, hindering fan engagement and the sport's growth.

What factors contribute to the excellence of Dagestani wrestlers?

Askren attributes Dagestani wrestling excellence to cultural passion for the sport, a tough life that fosters fighting spirit, and wrestling being a recognized pathway out of poverty, leading to top athletes being well-compensated and treated. The concentration of talent and experienced coaches sustains the development.

What is Ben Askren's philosophy on drilling versus sparring in grappling training?

Askren views training as a progression from teaching (zero resistance) to drilling (low resistance) to sparring (gray area resistance) to live competition (100% resistance). He emphasizes the importance of sparring lightly to execute new techniques fully, arguing that basic drilling has diminishing returns after a certain proficiency level.

Why does Ben Askren believe wrestlers adapt better to Jiu-Jitsu than vice versa?

Askren suggests wrestlers are more open-minded and adaptable, readily learning Jiu-Jitsu techniques. He observes that many Jiu-Jitsu practitioners are stubborn and resistant to learning takedowns or adapting wrestling concepts, despite the obvious advantages it would provide in MMA.

What specifically attracts Ben Askren to cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin?

Askren is drawn to Bitcoin for its philosophical concept of a decentralized system free from government control, which he views as superior to trusting politicians. He highlights its practical solutions for countries facing high inflation and for the unbanked and expensive remittance payments, issues often overlooked by Americans.

What is Ben Askren's advice for young people today?

Askren advises young people to embrace the lessons of wrestling, like persistence, perseverance, and work ethic, early in life. He stresses finding a great coach for wisdom and applying the recipe for success from one area of life to all others, including relationships, career, and personal choices.

How did Ben Askren learn to manage pre-competition anxiety?

After a bad performance in high school, Askren learned from a coach to engage in distracting conversations before a match, like talking about fishing, to prevent anxious thoughts from dominating his mind. This technique helped him enter competition with a clear, focused mindset.

Key Moments

Ben Askren: Wrestling and MMA | Lex Fridman Podcast #242

Lex Fridman

Science & Technology4 min read136 min video

Nov 20, 2021|215,847 views|4,010|480

Bellator Bitcoin Dagestan Jake Paul Jordan Burroughs Khabib Nurmagomedov ONE Championship Olympics Tyron Woodley UFC agi ai

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Ben Askren discusses wrestling, MMA, Jake Paul, and the future of grappling.

Key Insights

Askren analyzes Jake Paul's boxing potential and his own fight with Paul, attributing his loss to being unprepared post-surgery.

He reflects on his wrestling background, his training with Jordan Burroughs, and the evolution of wrestling techniques.

Askren believes wrestling's popularity is growing in MMA due to wrestlers' discipline, work ethic, and competitive experience.

He is developing a unique wrestling challenge concept inspired by the Gracie Challenge, focusing on pins and clear objectives.

Askren discusses his interest in cryptocurrency, primarily for its philosophical underpinnings of decentralization and trust in engineers over politicians.

He offers advice to young people emphasizing the life lessons learned through dedicated practice, especially in sports like wrestling.

Reflections on Boxing and the Jake Paul Phenomenon

Ben Askren provides his take on the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley fight, leaning towards Woodley winning while acknowledging Paul's surprising boxing aptitude. He candidly discusses his own loss to Jake Paul, attributing it to a lack of proper preparation following hip surgery and a significant weight gain, rather than an overall inferiority in boxing skill. Despite the outcome, he expresses a willingness to have taken the fight again for the experience and financial gain, framing it as an enjoyable, albeit challenging, endeavor.

The Evolution of Wrestling and Key Rivalries

Askren delves into his storied wrestling career, including his NCAA achievements and intense training experiences. He discusses his time training with Jordan Burroughs, highlighting Burroughs' dedication to continuous improvement and innovation. Askren contrasts folkstyle and freestyle wrestling, noting Burroughs' greater proficiency in freestyle. He also touches upon the intense rivalry between Kyle Dake and Jordan Burroughs, discussing the strategic nuances and historical context of their matchups, and how Dake has emerged as a significant threat.

Dominance in MMA and the Path to Professional Fighting

Looking back at his undefeated MMA streak with Bellator and ONE Championship, Askren identifies consistency in training and lifestyle as keys to his dominance. He highlights that his style was difficult for opponents to counter and that he innovated certain ground positions. Askren also touches upon his frustration with not being offered a UFC contract despite his undefeated record, a decision he believes might have stemmed from a past public disagreement with Dana White regarding drug testing. This led him to ONE Championship, where he continued his winning ways before retiring.

The "Ben Askren Challenge" and the Future of Grappling

Askren elaborates on his concept for a new wrestling challenge format, inspired by the Gracie Challenge. This would involve 30-minute matches with a single objective: pinning the opponent. He envisions it as a way to showcase wrestling's raw skills and create engaging content, potentially offering escalating prize money for pinning him. He contrasts this with traditional jiu-jitsu point systems, arguing for a clearer, more definitive objective in grappling competitions and expressing a desire to adapt techniques from other martial arts, like judo, into wrestling and vice-versa.

Cryptocurrency: A Philosophical Investment

Askren explains his deep interest in cryptocurrency, driven by a philosophical alignment with its decentralized nature, which he sees as a counterpoint to governmental control over currency. He emphasizes trusting engineers over politicians for financial management and highlights how crypto solves real-world problems like high inflation and expensive remittance payments, particularly for those outside the American economic system. While acknowledging the investment potential, his primary motivation stems from the underlying technology and its potential to empower individuals.

Lessons Learned: Advice for Young Athletes and Individuals

Askren views wrestling as a powerful metaphor for life, teaching crucial lessons in persistence, work ethic, and discipline. He advises young people to find dedicated coaches, absorb their wisdom, and apply the dedication learned in sports to all areas of life. He stresses the importance of embracing challenges and not fearing failure, seeing it as an opportunity for growth. Askren also touches on the difficulties of navigating life's responsibilities and encourages boldness in pursuing one's goals, highlighting the continuous process of learning and adaptation.

The Intersection of Wrestling, MMA, and Sports Psychology

Askren explores the transferability of wrestling skills to MMA, noting how wrestlers' discipline, competitive experience, and work ethic provide a significant advantage. He discusses the challenges of developing grappling skills, particularly for wrestlers entering jiu-jitsu and vice versa, attributing some resistance to stubbornness or a focus on other aspects of fighting. He also touches on sports psychology, the role of anxiety in performance, and the strategies athletes use to manage it, drawing parallels to his own experiences and observations of elite competitors.

Robot Training and the Future of AI in Combat Sports

The conversation touches upon the potential of AI and robotics in combat sports training. Askren engages with the idea of robots learning to wrestle, comparing it to AI in chess. He highlights the complexity of grappling compared to chess due to continuous variables like force and angle, suggesting that developing such robots would be a significant challenge but also a fascinating area of research. Ethical considerations, such as the risk of injury during training with robots, are also briefly mentioned.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Organizations

●Books

●Concepts

●People Referenced

Ben Askren's Training Philosophy: A Quick Guide

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Seek out the best competitors to challenge yourself, regardless of outcome.

Continuously evolve your technique and strategy, even in established styles.

Balance intense focus on winning with a willingness to seek out challenges and learn from losses.

In training, prioritize executing techniques by sparring lightly with less skilled partners before progressing.

As a coach, inspire belief in athletes and teach them emotional maturity for long-term success.

Develop a comprehensive wrestling system including attacks to both sides, pulling down, and going around opponents.

For grappling, focus beyond just individual moves to understand pressure, movement, and timing.

Be open-minded and 'steal' effective techniques from other martial arts.

In crypto investing, take some profits if financially constrained to make life-changing gains.

Learn life lessons and develop strong work ethic early in life, as time and responsibilities grow later.

Avoid This

Avoid being scared of challenging yourself against better opponents.

Don't fall into the trap of becoming stagnant in your style; always seek progression.

Don't make excuses for losses; analyze them to understand failures and areas for improvement.

Avoid excessive focus solely on winning in sparring; prioritize skill execution and learning.

Don't allow anxiety to disrupt your performance during competition; develop coping mechanisms.

Don't dismiss the importance of foundational drilling in martial arts training.

Don't be stubborn about learning new techniques or cross-training from other disciplines.

Don't ignore the importance of developing footwork in grappling arts like Jiu-Jitsu.

Don't blindly 'HODL' cryptocurrency if taking partial profits could significantly improve your life.

Common Questions

Ben Askren believed Tyron Woodley won the fight, scoring it 5 rounds to 3 in Woodley's favor, citing more effective and aggressive striking. He acknowledged Jake Paul had more volume but didn't think either landed significant damage.

Topics

Human Performance Mindset & Self-Improvement Anxiety Management Athletic Development Coaching Philosophy Sports Psychology Sports & Athletics Cryptocurrency Investment MMA Strategy Wrestling Techniques Grappling Training

Mentioned in this video

Media

Flowrestling Radio Live

A wrestling podcast co-hosted by Ben Askren.

People

J'den Cox

American freestyle wrestler, World Champion and Olympic medalist.

Renzo Gracie

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who Lex Fridman mentions whipped him in sparring.

Eddie Bravo

American BJJ instructor and founder of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, known for his submission-only rule sets.

Bill Mahoff

Russian wrestler who competed in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, signed by the UFC but never fought.

Dan Gable

Legendary American wrestler and coach known for his intense training methods.

Jake Paul

YouTube personality and boxer who has fought Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.

Mike Rhodes

MMA fighter and training partner who helped Ben Askren prepare for the Jake Paul fight.

Ole Bischoff

German judoka and Olympic medalist, mentioned as Travis Stevens's opponent in a famous match.

Buvaisar Saitiev

Russian freestyle wrestler, widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, with numerous Olympic and World titles.

Kyle Snyder

American freestyle wrestler, Olympic gold medalist and multiple World Champion.

Bo Nickal

Highly acclaimed American wrestler making his MMA debut.

Michael Malice

Author, podcaster, and anarchist, known for his controversial and active presence on Twitter.

Michael Chandler

MMA fighter and former Bellator Lightweight Champion, also a former wrestling teammate of Ben Askren.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Undefeated Russian MMA fighter and former UFC Lightweight Champion, highly regarded for his grappling.

Jason Nolf

American freestyle wrestler, known for his creative and dynamic wrestling style.

Nick Gwiazdowski

American freestyle wrestler and World medalist, mentioned as a strong competitor in American heavyweights.

Craig Jones

Australian submission grappler, known for his emphasis on wrestling in Jiu-Jitsu.

Ron Paul

American physician, author, and former politician, known for his libertarian views and critiques of the Federal Reserve.

Tyron Woodley

MMA fighter and former UFC Welterweight Champion who fought Jake Paul.

Jorge Masvidal

MMA fighter who defeated Ben Askren with a flying knee.

Jordan Burroughs

Elite American freestyle wrestler, multiple world and Olympic champion, known for his double leg takedown. Ben Askren trained with him and had an exhibition match.

Kyle Dake

American freestyle wrestler, multiple World Champion, known for competing against Jordan Burroughs.

Freddie Roach

Famous boxing trainer, Ben Askren trained with him for a week.

Gordon Ryan

American submission grappler, considered one of the greatest no-gi grapplers of all time, mentioned in a hypothetical scenario.

Abdulrashid Sadulaev

Russian freestyle wrestler, Olympic gold medalist and multiple World Champion, referred to as 'the Russian tank'.

Mark Laymon

Jiu-Jitsu instructor who Ben Askren found and highly regards.

Eddie Ruth

Elite American folkstyle wrestler, discussed in the context of training with Khabib.

David Taylor

American freestyle wrestler, World and Olympic Champion, who Ben Askren trained with.

Fedor Emelianenko

Russian MMA legend, considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, mentioned in comparison to Ben Askren's potential.

Michael Saylor

Entrepreneur and Bitcoin advocate, mentioned in the context of trusting engineers over politicians with money.

Lightning Luke Smith

Ben Askren's high school teammate who inspired the 'lightning dump' wrestling move.

Dana White

President of the UFC, who initially refused to sign Ben Askren.

Joe Rogan

Podcast host and UFC commentator, known for his opinions on MMA. Lex Fridman mentions his favorable view of Ben Askren.

Mike Ironman

An influential wrestling coach in Ben Askren's college career, who helped him develop his creative style.

Travis Stevens

American judoka and Olympic silver medalist, mentioned by Lex Fridman regarding wrestling against Ole Bischoff.

Denis Tsargush

Russian freestyle wrestler, three-time World Champion, who Askren lost to in international competition.

Alexander Medved

Belarusian Soviet freestyle wrestler, three-time Olympic gold medalist, mentioned as difficult to find footage of.

Demian Maia

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and MMA fighter, praised for developing proficient wrestling skills.

Muhammad Ali

Legendary boxer and activist, quoted at the end of the podcast about determination in defeat.

Jimmy Pedro

American judoka and coach, mentioned by Lex Fridman.

Robbie Lawler

MMA fighter and former UFC Welterweight Champion, Ben Askren's opponent in his first UFC fight.

John Smith

Legendary American wrestler and coach known for his innovative style and winning multiple World and Olympic titles.

Ivan Fundora

Cuban wrestler, Ben Askren's opponent in the 2008 Olympics.

Gable Steveson

American freestyle wrestler, Olympic gold medalist in heavyweight.

Georges St-Pierre

MMA legend, former UFC Welterweight and Middleweight Champion, known for his mental approach to fighting.

Companies

Boston Dynamics

Robotics company known for advanced humanoid robots, mentioned in the context of hard-coded vs. learned movements.

ESPN

Sports broadcasting channel, criticized for poor wrestling coverage.

Western Union

Financial services company known for money transfers, criticized for high fees on remittances.

DeepMind

An AI subsidiary of Alphabet known for developing AlphaZero.

National Broadcasting Company

Major American television network, criticized for limited Olympics and wrestling coverage.

Organizations

International Olympic Committee

Governing body of the Olympic Movement, criticized for restricting access to Olympic footage and its financial practices.

Bellator MMA

MMA promotion where Ben Askren was undefeated for several years and held a championship title.

ONE Championship

Asian MMA promotion where Ben Askren fought and won a title after being denied entry to the UFC.

Beat the Streets

A non-profit organization that develops wrestling programs for youth in underserved communities, primarily in New York City.

USADA

The national anti-doping organization for the United States, mentioned by Askren in a debate with Dana White about drug testing.

National Collegiate Athletic Association

Governing body for collegiate athletics in the USA, mentioned regarding wrestling championships and amateurism rules.

ICARUS

Documentary film about doping in sports, particularly in Russia.

USA Wrestling

The national governing body for the sport of wrestling in the United States.

Federal Reserve

The central banking system of the United States, mentioned in the context of Ron Paul's critiques.

Software & Apps

AlphaZero

An AI program developed by DeepMind that mastered chess, Shogi, and Go by playing against itself.

Concepts

Bitcoin

A decentralized digital currency, of interest to Ben Askren for its philosophical underpinnings and practical solutions.

Books

Flow

A streaming platform for wrestling content. Ben Askren works for them, and they provide good access to wrestling footage.

The Talent Code

Book by Daniel Coyle discussing 'talent hotbeds' around the world and principles of skill acquisition.

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