Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs gave UFC welterweight Ben Askren a rude welcome back to the sport of wrestling on Monday night in New York.
The highly anticipated showdown took place as part of the ‘Beat the Streets’ wrestling program but the end result wasn’t nearly as competitive as some might have expected.
Burroughs ultimately thumped Askren 11-0 to earn a technical fall in the featured bout at the event that also touted several Olympic and World Championship medalists.
While Askren is a highly accomplished wrestler in his own right as a two-time NCAA champion and 2008 Olympian, he was simply outgunned going against Burroughs.
The former University of Nebraska standout showed incredible quickness and technique while executing his signature blast double leg takedown to plan Askren on the mat.
One particular takedown saw Burroughs drive the top 10 ranked UFC welterweight into the ground and Askren could only smile back at him as the match nearing its end.
After racking up a 9-0 lead in the first period, Burroughs stopped the match with another lightning quick takedown to open the second period, which earned him the technical fall victory.
“That double was clean, man,” Burroughs said to NJ.com after the match was finished. “I wrestled Ben before and when I got in the front headlock position I remembered it and he was even teaching me some ways to get out of the front headlock. I knew his scrambling ability was far superior to a lot of people I competed against. Any time we were touching we were on an equivalent playing field.
“When I’m in the open, it’s my game. That’s what I wanted to do.”
Burroughs, a four-time gold medalist and two-time bronze medalist at the wrestling World Championships, is currently preparing for another run at the event later this year in Kazakhstan.
Meanwhile, Askren is preparing for his second fight in the UFC when he faces Jorge Masvidal on the main card at UFC 239 in Las Vegas on July 6.
