Break It Down: Scott Askham vs. Jack Hermansson

Saturday, September 3 will see yet another elite Cage Warriors fighter make the step up to the UFC and try to prove his worth on the big show, at UFC Fight Night 93 in Hamburg, Germany.

Jack “The Joker” Hermansson (13-2) is of both Swedish and Norwegian origin and is widely recognised to be the top middleweight on the European circuit – he has a Cage Warriors middleweight title to prove it. However, the relative inactivity of the European mega-promotion has recently forced Hermansson to find fights elsewhere on the continent against lacklustre opposition, so the call up to the big show happened at a much-needed time for the 32-year-old.

His opponent will be Doncaster’s very own, Scott Askham (14-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC). As his record shows, Askham has had mixed success in the UFC, with decision losses against tough opponents Magnus Cedenblad and Krzysztof Jotko, and stoppage wins against Antonio dos Santos Jr. and most recently, Chris Dempsey – who was on the receiving end of one of Askham’s head kicks on the Bisping vs. Silva card in London back in February. Outside of the UFC, Askham held the BAMMA middleweight title and went undefeated.

This is an exciting clash between two of the best middleweights to emerge from the European circuit, and it’s a reflection of the progression of the sport that we get to see this kind of match up on the biggest stage for MMA in the world. The important question is: How will these two’s skills match up when it’s time to fight?

Scott Askham follows a classical blueprint of a lanky traditional Muay Thai striking specialist, who also has great takedown defence with the safety net of some tricky guard play in his jiu-jitsu game. He’s showed his proficiency with his stand up, displaying a well-rounded set of skills on the feet which have seen him knee Antonio dos Santos into a fine paste using his clinch striking arsenal, while also showing his kicking proficiency in his aforementioned KO of Chris Dempsey. He also scored an astounding front kick to the face in his unfortunate decision loss against Magnus Cedenblad. Askham is undoubtedly most at home on the feet, but his continuous training with one of the best jiu-jitsu artists currently residing the UK in Victor Estima, recently earned him his brown belt, and is surely helping him further round out his already impressive skill set.

It’ll take a complete MMA fighter to defeat the likes of Askham, and luckily for Hermansson, he is exactly that. Unlike Askham, Hermansson’s style isn’t so easy to break down into its constituent parts. His style on the feet isn’t one of a kickboxer, he adopts a wide stance and sinks his level too much lower than his 6’1” frame, while still effectively using his reach by pumping out jabs and straight punches with regularity, and also mixing in powerful kicks. Hermansson is always ready for the takedown and even if he is unable to stop it, he has shown an incredible ability to submit a stronger wrestler from his back. There is no better example of this than his submission victory at Warrior Fight Series 4 in August of last year, in which he was overwhelmed by the incredibly powerful (and heavily supplemented) Karlos Vemola early in the first round, forcing Hermansson to work from his back and expertly transition between triangle and armbar until the referee intervened for the sake of the structural integrity of Vemola’s elbow joint.

While it was performances like this that undoubtedly caught the attention of the UFC, it’s heavily doubtful that the Scandinavian will be forced to work from his back against Askham, who most likely won’t have the inclination to take him down. It’s possible that large portions of this bout will take place on the feet and, depending on how well this goes for Hermansson, may be permeated by takedown attempts for Askham to avoid. The Yorkshireman’s long 6’3” frame and standing clinch skills often prove useful in defending takedown attempts against the cage, so Hermansson may have more luck in shooting single and double legs as an exclamation point after busy punch combinations. Askham is a very skilled striker, but as we saw in the Jotko fight, he is susceptible to being overwhelmed by volume while he searches almost too methodically for the perfect counter. However, I don’t see his opponent taking advantage of this right away, as Hermansson is a smart fighter and won’t want to play his hand early.

I think that we are in for a tentative first round courtesy of the fact that both fighters have a high fight IQ, and neither will be willing to make any mistakes early – especially Hermansson, who is a UFC debutant and may suffer from the infamous Octagon jitters. This match up makes for a very tactical encounter between two incredibly skilled guys who still have everything to prove, despite being veterans in their own right. Only time will tell who will prevail in this contest between two European champions.

Check out our main card preview HERE.