US Olympian Ben Askren’s Surprising Reaction to Islam Makhachev’s Take on Australian Wrestling

Fans may find it difficult to comprehend how close the super-fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 is. There are several reasons to wait for the fight. The main one is that champions from two separate weight classes will collide in a single championship bout. UFC 284 is unique in terms of location as well. The bout will take place at Perth, Australia’s RAC Arena. However, a statement made by Islam Makhachev regarding Australians is now circulating on social media.

The lightweight champ once asserted that Australia produces no top-tier wrestlers. The media decided to re-pose the query now that the Dagestani fighter will in fact compete against an Australian mixed martial artist there. Nonetheless, Makhachev stood strong in his claim, and the American mixed martial artist, Ben Askren, took to Twitter to support the Russian fighter.

Islam Makhachev believes there are no great Australian wrestlers

Ben Askren tweeted to the video posted by Spinnin Backfist where Makhachev was asked if he still strongly feels that there are no good Australian wrestlers during the pre-fight press meet. As an answer to the query, the UFC lightweight champion said  “Brother. I follow all wrestling, you know, all wrestling competition. I saw all world championships. Olympic Games. Like international tournament. I don’t see some people from Australia there. Sorry, but this is true”.

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Makhachev received a lot of backlash for his statement. Additionally, many claimed that the Russian was being racist and could not appreciate Australian wrestlers.

To support his fellow UFC fighter, Ben Askren wrote, “He isn’t wrong; I don’t think AUS has ever had someone competing at a high level at the FS World Championships.” Being a wrestler himself, Askren too publicly expressed what he feels about the 31-year-old’s statement. However, the netizens were disturbed by the statement of the two.

Makhachev vs. Volkanovski; who is better?

Many opinions were raised on Islam Makhachev’s rude statement regarding Australians, especially when he was going to fight Alexander Volkanovski. The netizens strongly feel that even after having a strong opponent like ‘The Great’, Makhachev is not the least bit humbled. Many claim it is his arrogance and overconfidence that makes him talk against Australians. However, the lightweight champ is a great fighter who has only a single loss in his fighting career (23-1); the same goes for Volkanovski too (25-1). This is indeed the reason why the fight is called a “super-fight.”

However, the Russian fighter is quite confident about his victory against the Australian fighter. Makhachev was able to capture the lightweight throne at UFC 280 by submitting Charles Oliveira. Now, he wants to beat the UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski by knockout. The audience has to wait patiently to learn the outcome of the bout and to know whether Makhachev will change his opinion regarding Australian fighters or not.

Who do you think will become a double-division champ in Australia? Let us know in the comments below.

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