Is Georges St. Pierre the Best Wrestler in MMA? Ben Askren Says No

GSP doesn’t even have the best MMA wrestling in MMA. He has incredible takedowns that he sets up with his striking, but his top control is barely above average. How many times did Thiago Alves get up from underneath him? 10? I’m a big GSP mark, but there are clearly better all-around MMA wrestlers in MMA.

And if you’re wondering, I keep saying “MMA wrestlers/wrestling” to distinguish between pure wrestlers and what wrestlers can do in the cage/ring.

This isn’t a wrestling match though Benny. Don’t get your panties in a bunch because GSP would beat you in an MMA match. Quite easily I might add.

But if you give GSP some time and prepare him for pure wrestling, it’s a stronger possibility that he could take him. GSP’s dedication is absurd.

Is there an interview out there where anyone on the Canadian national wrestling team rates GSP? They’d be in a great position to speak on the level of his wrestling.

A huge part of GSP’s wrestling game is using his striking to set up his shots and shooting just as people begin to counter. Combine the awesome transitioning and submission defence and his MMA wrestling is just the best in the business. His offensive submission do need some work, but their not exactly bad, just sub-par compared to his skillset. These things don’t translate to wrestling matches, but that isn’t what matters.

but there u go… i long for the next crucial skill-dimension of MMA to emerge – you know… to bring balance back to the force (lol)

Not a wrestling expert, but I have always questioned how good GSP’s “wrestling” is. I never thought it was that amazing, however, his explosiveness and speed on his take downs, IS amazing. Technicallly speaking, his wrestling and maybe even his takedowns, may not be world class, but the manner in which he uses them, certainly is.

is the whole point.

it is almost as dumb as saying he’d beat him in chess. well, fine. gsp isn’t a chess player. he’s a mixed martial artist. he fights in the ufc.

this quote especially is gold:

“And Koscheck was way too worried about keeping his hands up by his ears and not getting hit in the head to defend his legs.”

well, no shit! you know why he was worried about keeping his hands up? take a look at the fitch fight. he was worried his fucking head was going to get kicked off. and he was worried about that …. because GSP HAS A BLACK BELT IN KARATE.

questions like who has the best boxing in mma or who has the best wrestling in mma are fun but pointless. the different disciplines FEED off each other. gsp’s striking makes his wrestling better and vice versa. that’s why his “mma wrestling” is so good.

is ben askren a better ncaa wreslter? i would assume so. but then, mark munoz is a great ncaa wrestler and he couldn’t get okami down once in their fight. contrast that with say sonnen, a guy who has comparable credentials to munoz but really gets “mma wrestling.” that’s the difference.

anyway, who cares. askren is just trying to hype himself. and looks like i fell for it.

That’s why he’s so good. He’s always a threat. Pure wrestling match? No contest, GSP would probably lose, but that’s not the point. MMA match? I bet Ben gets put on his back repeatedly, or if he does stuff the take-down, GSP lights him up on the feet.

Askren is basically saying he’d beat GSP in a game that GSP has never formally played. Who cares? I’d probably beat Jon Fitch in a taekwondo match played under Olympic rules, but he’d murder me in a fight, and definitely in an MMA cage.

All of this talk of MMA wrestling vs. wrestling vs. “elite MMA wrestling” is kind of pointless. The only thing that matters is who implements wrestling tools effectively as part of a holistic MMA strategy. Askren isn’t even in the conversation at this point and should probably keep GSP’s name out of his mouth.

If Askren wants to face GSP, he’ll have to lose in Bellator to get out of their champions clause if he becomes their champ.

Yeah, Couture’s boxing isn’t as good as yours. That’s not the point. We’re not in a boxing, or a wrestling, match.

Is GSP the best pure wrestler? No. IS he better than anyone else integrating wrestling as one facet of his MMA ability? Yes. Sonnen is a close second. The metric for comparison is easy: has the wrestling facet of the multi-faceted game brought them success. It doesn’t matter that Askren would beat GSP in a pure wrestling match, just as it didn’t matter that Toney would have beaten Couture in a pure boxing match.

“liklihood”?