The 2024 Paris Olympics has got the whole world excited not just for the games but also for the controversies here and there. Even UFC veterans cannot help but speak about the games and incidents happening in Paris. So it seems like Ben Askren is also a part of this and has been affected by the latest Olympic decision in the wrestling final. He was disappointed for a fellow welterweight wrestler since he also used to compete in the same category in MMA.  He voiced his concern for fellow welterweight Olympic wrestler Daichi  Takatani who was defeated by Razambek Salambekovitch Jamalov of Uzbekistan.

The welterweight UFC fighter with a 19-12-0 record was disappointed at the decision made during the finals of the wrestling match at the Paris Olympics. Let’s see what he had to say through X.

Ben Askren lashes out at controversial decision in wrestling final at Paris 2024

He came on to X/ Twitter and said, “Just hit me I don’t think I saw anyone complain on Twitter that Takatani was not even close to pinned when the refs called it.  IT WAS EVEN CLOSE.  where are the Mongolian coaches when you need them??” He did not like the decision that was taken in the men’s wrestling finals.

Takatani was aspiring to become the first Japanese man who would clinch the title in the Welterweight category. Jiichiro Date achieved the feat at the 1976 Montreal Games and the former aspired to be the second Japanese athlete to do so. However, the 29-year-old could not get the gold and had to settle for silver in his debut performance.

He said, “This is the path I have taken. It is like me to lose by falling in the finals. Regardless of winning or losing, everyone made it feel like a festival.” The match ended when his opponent put him in a vice-grip neck chokehold. He joined his brother Sosuke Tatakani in this loss because his brother lost twice in the same category at the Olympics. However, he still took home a silver, which is also a great achievement.

On top of that ‘Funky,’ did not like this decision from the Olympic judges. Tatakani is the youngest of three siblings who are all wrestlers. the Paris Olympics was his first appearance in the Olympics and previously he won a bronze medal in the 2023 World Championships in the freestyle category. In the final round, Takatani never got the upper hand as Jamalov was in control and ended the fight 5-0. 

The Olympics is pretty much giving a lot of interesting incidents this year and many UFC veterans have commented on the things happening in Paris Olymloics in 2024. Some of them even include Chael Sonnen and Israel Adesanya. One huge incident that happened was related to Imane Khelif which is already known by most people but what Adesanya said might not be known by many. Let’s see what he had to say.

Israel Adesanya on Imane Khelif controversy

Israel Adesanya fell into misunderstandings like a lot of other people and lashed out at the Algerian athlete on social media. However, the Kiwi mixed martial artist decided to apologize to the boxer for his harsh words. Just after Imane Khelif had achieved victory against Carini, the Italian boxer claimed that she had never been hit so harshly and people doubted the gender of the Algerian boxer. On top of that, there was news that the IBA had previously disqualified Khelif from the 2023 World Championship on an undisclosed gender eligibility test. However, the IBA itself was banned recently and the IOC allowed her to compete in the Paris Olympics.

‘Izzy’ along with many other athletes questioned her identity. However, Khelif ’s father had recently revealed the truth so that his daughter did not have to face any more slander. This also made the former middleweight champion realize the mistake and apologize. Adesanya said, “You know what? From now on, I’m gonna leave women’s fights to women. I’m gonna leave it to you guys because whenever I try to speak up about it, and then apparently, I get it wrong. A lot of people got it wrong. And there’s misinformation.” He sincerely said ‘sorry’ and admitted that he did not understand his mistake at the time.

So all in all, the Olympics has everyone talking.  So what do you think about the incidents? Tell us in the comments below.