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Ben Askren has officially announced his retirement from MMA. Ben said an MRI scan revealed that he needs a hip transplant and thus he thinks it is no longer possible to continue in MMA, hence his decision. I'm sure most would agree with me when I say that I think he made the right decision for his health (even ignoring the apparent hip transplant).

John Smith has a video up rbehind the FloWrestling paywall. He brings up a good point on how officials inconsistently call takedowns in scramble or funk situations (specifically the leg pass), and proposes a few solutions. Smith points out that right now no two refs call leg pass situations exactly the same, and that someone from the NCAA should objectively define what the criteria for a takedown vs stalemate are in this situation. One ref will award the attacking wrestler with a takedown and back points, while another will gift the leg passer a stalemate in the exact same position. This is a problem. Currently, folkstyle has clear definitions for takedowns in several situations ("wrong leg in," locked hands in a cradle, one hands touches the mat- are all specific criteria) that take the subjectivity out of reffing. The leg pass situation has no clear definition as the rules have lagged behind the technique of the last decade. To Smith, it boils down to two simple criteria: 1) Land on your inside him with both of your knees on the same side, and 2) Stop the leg passer from rolling the other direction and hold him in nearfall criteria. Here's an example: Delgado attempts to leg pass Nashon Garrett. Garret goes with the roll, but lands on his inside hip with both of his knees together and holds Delgado on his back with a crossface. As soon as Garrett holds Delgado in a position that he can't leg pass out of, Garrett is in control and should be rewarded (he was the attacking wrestler after all). Regardless if the NCAA adopts Smith's criteria, he feels that they need to do something. Right now, the subjective discretion that refs have in this situation is a major problem with folkstyle wrestling. The interpretation of this position changes on a ref-by-ref basis and does not reward the wrestler who takes a risk and attacks. He sums up his feelings on this position nicely by urging refs to "put points on the board!"

https://twitter.com/Benaskren/status/615896278883368960 Ben Askren ‏@Benaskren 9h9 hours ago Ben Askren retweeted FrontRowBrian® Shoot I missed it all, let me know how happy I should be I won't ever have to wear that stuff.

https://twitter.com/Benaskren/status/540233696784445440 Ben AskrenVerified account ‏@Benaskren Hey @kyledake444 you busy on January 25 or do you have time for a @FPLwrestling match??

Askren previously sought to wrestle Dake, but was not able to. Dake is now hurt so it doesn't look likely. However, Taylor is healthy, and likely has some time on his schedule. How would these two do if they wrestled each other? An Agon event may be possible, although I don't know if Agon is still holding events. Maybe an exhibition at the All-Star meet? An exhibition at a ONE FC event? An exhibition at the Midlands or Southern Scuffle? I feel this match could and should happen.