Ben Askren did not look too impressed by Sean O’Malley’s performance against Marlon Vera in the recently concluded UFC 252. Sean O’Malley took on Marlon Vera in the co-main event of UFC 252. However, it did not go as planned for Sean O’Malley, who suffered the first loss of his MMA career.
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Marlon Vera put up an incredible performance over the undefeated fighter, and looked absolutely incredible against Sean O’Malley on the night of the fight. While there’s a natural predicament going around that Sean O’Malley suffered a freakish injury, there are fight fans who believe Vera had a lot to do with the damage.
Ben Askren criticizes Sean O’Malley
Sean O’Malley looked incredible in the first few minutes of the first round. He was able to land several kicks and punches on Marlon Vera. However, it was a lethal calf kick from Marlon Vera which ultimately led to the downfall of Sean O’Malley. Vera landed several calf kicks on O’Malley and capitalized on the MMA trend of throwing calf kicks.
“The calf kick wasn’t really a thing for a really long time. It’s a thing now. It turns out that they are very effective. It’s becoming that they are more prevalent than regular kicks, which would be above the knee.”
Leg kick directly onto right common peroneal nerve resulting in inability to dorsiflex ankle. An increasingly common attack in MMA #sweeptheleg https://t.co/TyleoP4eJj
— Coach JK (@John_Kavanagh) August 16, 2020
Ben Askren also revealed whether he felt the stoppage was right. Referee Herb Dean has met with severe criticism over his alleged early stoppage during Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera.
“I think it was the right one, seeing as though O’Malley didn’t really protest it. He wanted to get out of there for whatever reason.” Ben Askren criticized Sean O’Malley and while he did mention the stoppage was quick, he felt it was right given O’Malley was not doing anything to defend himself.
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“It’s a fistfight. Yes, he was in pain.” Askren said.
Ben Askren claimed that Sean O’Malley going out of the octagon was not a strong sign for the fighter. He maintained that it’s all part of growing up for the fighter.
“You are not putting my a** on a stretcher because I got ankle injury. I got one other good leg and I am gonna hop on in the back. Leave me the f alone.” When asked whether it was a sign of weakness on O’Malley’s part to walk out on a stretcher, Askren said, “Absolutely. Yeah.”