One of the most intense matches J�den Cox ever wrestled was in the practice room on the Hearnes Center�s fourth floor.

It came 3� years ago, when Cox was an 18-year-old Missouri freshman.

Ben Askren, the most decorated wrestler in MU history, was in town. He challenged Cox in a scrap that lasted more than 20 minutes.

It was a bout of Missouri�s past vs. its future.

It also would prove to be a duel between the two greatest grapplers to ever wear the Missouri singlet.

When it was over, Coach Brian Smith asked who won?

�They both said, �I did,�" Smith said.

Smith let Askren, who is 11 years older than Cox, catch his breath. Then he asked the more important question.

�I said, �Can he win it?�� Smith said. �He said, �He�s going to win it.��

"It" was the national championship.

Months later in Oklahoma City, Cox proved Askren right when he became the first Missouri wrestler to ever win the national title as a freshman. Two years later, he won another.

This week, Cox will have the chance to become the first Tiger ever to win three national titles. The NCAA Championships begin at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis and culminate Saturday. Cox is seeded No. 1 at 197 pounds.

A third title would add fuel to the debate of whether Cox or Askren is the greatest Missouri wrestler ever, and it would deepen the conversation of Cox being the most accomplished athlete in the history of MU�s athletic department.

Two decorated careers

Some of Askren�s marks can�t be touched.

He won the Dan Hodge Trophy � wrestling�s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy � as a junior and senior, when he finished his career with back-to-back undefeated seasons and 174-pound national titles.

Cox is in this conversation for this year�s Hodge Trophy but hasn�t won it before. Cornell 184-pounder Gabe Dean might be tough to top for the Hodge this year, given Dean�s prowess for pins.

Askren had 54 pins in his final two seasons. Pins are a factor that boost a wrestler�s Hodge candidacy. They indicate dominance and provide the most bonus points for a wrestler�s team.

Askren�s 91 career pins are almost twice as many as the next closest wrestler on MU�s all-time leaderboard. Askren won 153 matches in his career, a program record that may never be broken.

Cox, who has five pins this year, takes a 23-0 record into the national tournament and is going for his first undefeated season. However, he hasn�t actually been beaten on the college mat in two years. The only loss during his junior season came via disqualification after he rode an opponent out bounds and through a scorer�s table.

If Cox goes 5-0 this week to claim the crown, he�ll finish his career with 136-5 record, tying him with Alan Waters for the second-most wins in program history. That would give Cox a career winning percentage of .965. Askren, who went 153-8 during his career, had a career winning clip of .950.

With a top-eight finish, Cox would join Askren as the only four-time All-Americans in program history. In the two years Askren didn�t win a national title, he placed second.

In Cox�s sophomore year, he placed fifth.

Would three national titles, plus a fifth-place finish, top two national titles and two second-place finishes?

�I�ll leave the argument to other people,� Askren said. �I�m just happy we�re having this discussion, because that means the Missouri wrestling program is heading in a very positive direction. If I was the only one ever in consideration, that would not be a good thing.�

Off the college mats, Askren and Cox each competed at the Olympics. Askren went 1-1 in 2008 at Beijing. Cox won a bronze medal in August in Rio de Janeiro.

Askren always has been one of Cox�s biggest fans.

Cox, for his part, doesn�t see that anything he does this week will affect Askren�s legacy.

�Ben Askren�s legacy is never going to be taken down, because Ben Askren�s legacy, I think, is what�s drawn a lot of people to look at Mizzou," Cox said. "Beforehand, if you think about it, there wasn�t really much going on at Mizzou. They�d never had a national champion, let alone a Hodge winner. He brought attention to Mizzou. That will never fade away.�

A legacy, after all, is something passed from a predecessor to a successor, not a title to be won.

With Askren leading the way, Missouri claimed its first team trophy, placing third in 2007. Cox helped Missouri capture its second when the Tigers finished fourth in 2015.

The big finish

Cox's success is often credited to his combination of athleticism, quickness and strength.

That's all true.

He wonders, though, if his abilities make it so that people don't appreciate the training he put into his career. Driving down Providence on his way to wrestling practice, Smith has spotted Cox running 3 miles along the street on his way to the Hearnes Center.

It's his warmup to the workout.

Cox didn't get a break after his junior season, going from his college season to Olympic training. Sensing Cox might be gassed, Smith banned Cox from the Hearnes for a week in January, resting him for three matches. Cox wasn't a fan of the idea at first but admits now it was a break he needed.

He has scored bonus points in seven of his eight victories since that week off.

�I just felt rejuvenated," Cox said.

All the long jogs, the runs up the stairs, the training in the practice room will be worth it to Cox if he can finish his career with another national title. None of his training, though, will have been as tough as his battles against Askren.

They've squared off a few times since that first meeting during Cox's freshman season.

In that initial matchup, Cox came away impressed with Askren�s grip. Askren's MMA career showed through, Cox said, with some hands to the throat. Askren is a former Bellator welterweight champion and current welterweight champ of the Singapore-based ONE Championship.

Askren knew Cox had the size advantage, so he tried to stay out of precarious situations. His goal was to constantly push Cox, exhaust him and make him give up.

�I couldn�t make him give up, and I felt how good he was in a bunch of different positions,� Askren said.

The workout was as intense as Cox has ever had.

"It was probably the most fun, yet exhausting, time I�ve ever had in the room,� Cox said.

As for who is the better wrestler ...

"I don�t know. That one�s tough," Cox said. ... "We both have our unique abilities. Ben has his scrambling ability and his pinning ability. I�m not very much known for a pinner. I have different strengths than he has. As far as us wrestling each other, I don�t know if that could ever happen. I�m way too big for him. Size-wise, yeah, I�m bigger. But I think I would still probably give" Askren the edge, "though, either way, just because of his way of being able to literally change a match or take over a match at any point in time.

"He can really change the whole aspect of a match within the snap of a finger."

Askren summed it up like this: �He may be better, but I was more dominant.�

Smith, in his 19th season as Missouri�s coach, isn�t ready to cast his ballot.

�That�s for you guys to have fun with,� he said.

The debate of Askren or Cox will wage on, especially if Cox goes out in style this week. But this much is certain: There are now two seats at the table of that debate.