Ben Askren News

Justin Golightly - November 25, 2017

He came, he wrestled, he got funky, now he’s gone. Ben Askren was able to take out multiple-time lightweight champion and grappling guru Shinya Aoki at ONE Championship’s Immortal Pursuit in his retirement fight. He walks away from the sport with little to no damage and boasts an undefeated record of 18 wins, 11 of those victories being finishes. While he never got to display his skills inside the UFC’s Octagon, Askren is completely content with how his career has played out. That isn’t to say that an asterisk isn’t always above the ‘R’ word, but it would have to be something massive to get Askren to fight again. @GeorgesStPierre how’s the spring weather in Montreal? I hear it’s a nice time to test your true Martial Arts skills

Justin Golightly - November 24, 2017

Today at an historic ONE Championship event, Ben Askren leaves MMA for good. His retirement match was against a legend in his own right, grappling wizard and multiple-time former champion, Shinya Aoki. Askren slammed the former ONE lightweight champion Aoki down after he pulled guard, then it was basically all over from there. After some thundering ground and pound, the referee stepped in and stopped the fight, awarding Askren a technical knockout for his final victory in MMA. “Listen, I told someone this the other day, and this is something I ca0n be totally proud about, I hope I don’t eff this up while I’m telling it live: I have never turned down a fight, I have never pulled out of a fight, I have never missed weight, I have never failed a drug test, and I have never lost. And I don’t know that anyone else can say that, ever.” —Ben Askren on a previous episode of The MMA Hour.

Tom Taylor - September 7, 2017

Shortly after his destruction of Zebaztian Kadestam at last weekend’s ONE Championship: Shanghai event, it was announced that Ben Askren’s next fight would be his last. His opponent in this November 24 retirement fight, it was revealed, would be Japanese lightweight veteran Shinya Aoki, who stands out as one of the finest submission players in MMA history. Speaking on BJ Penn Radio, Askren revealed that this awesome matchup was initially a surprise to even him:

Jason Kindschy - September 6, 2017

BJPENN Radio is back tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT with more of what you crave! 8:15PM ET- Kicking off the show tonight we are joined by the No. 3 Ranked UFC Flyweight, Ray “The Tazmexican Devil” Borg. Just days before the biggest fight of his career we’ll preview Ray’s first attempt at UFC gold as he faces the pound-for-pound best athlete in MMA, Demetrious Johnson. While DJ looks to break the record of most title defenses in UFC history, Borg has his own plans to steal the show and become one the youngest champions at just 24 years of age. You’ll hear why the Jackson/Wink-trained Borg believes he is the one to dethrone “Mighty Mouse” and where he expects to have clear advantages.

Justin Golightly - September 2, 2017

Ben Askren retains his title, tells @awawisconsin to get ready to get back to work on Tuesday. @FloWrestling #ONEShanghai pic.twitter.com/Hca3VTkJTY — FloCombat (@FloCombat) September 2, 2017

Tom Taylor - July 13, 2017

On July 29, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will attempt to defend his title against Brazilian jiu jitsu wizard Demian Maia. To prepare for this difficult challenge, Woodley has been working with one of the best wrestlers in MMA, One Championship welterweight king Ben Askren. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Ben Askren broke down his recent work with Woodley.

Scott Hernandez - July 12, 2017

BJPENN.COM Radio returns at 8PM ET/5PM PT with Ben Askren and Rich Franklin! 8:15PM ET- We kick things off with ONE FC Welterweight Champ and arguably the best grappler in MMA today, Ben Askren. “Funky” Ben is several weeks removed from his most recent title defense and we’ll getting the scoop on when he expects to be back in competition. As outspoken as they come, Ben will give us his take on some of MMA’s hot topics and big fights coming up. From working with Tyron Woodley leading up to UFC 214, to being the most dominant champion under the ONE FC banner, we’ll cover it all with Askren.

Scott Hernandez - February 25, 2017

It’s no secret that UFC lightweight #1 contender Khabib Nurmagomedov possesses some of the most dominant wrestling, and lethal ground and pound in the entire sport of MMA. In addition to holding the UFC record for most takedowns landed in a fight, Nurmagomedov is one of the few men in the UFC with an undefeated record. Throughout the course of his UFC run, Nurmagomedov has displayed not only phenomenal takedowns, but also the rare ability to completely control his opponents on the ground while landing brutal ground and pound shots that he uses to either open up submissions, or finish his opponents.

Tom Taylor - January 25, 2017

While a case can certainly be made for Douglas Lima, Rory MacDonald and Jon Fitch, it’s very possible that One Championship welterweight king Ben Askren is the best welterweight outside the UFC. Despite his status as such, however, the former Bellator champ has yet to reach a deal with the UFC, and so its impossible to say how he’d fare against the promotion’s best welterweights. That, however, hasn’t stopped him from talking about these potential fights. On a recent episode of Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome podcast, Askren offered his thoughts on how fights with the UFC’s two best welterweights would go.

Scott Hernandez - October 21, 2016

ONE FC champion Ben Askren is widely believed to be one of the best fighters not currently signed to the UFC. With a 15-0 professional record that has seen Askren not only claim the ONE championship, but also win the Bellator welterweight championship. As if that weren’t enough, Askren defended his ONE FC championship once, and also defended his Bellator championship belt 4 times. Despite that, the accomplished wrestler has never competed under the UFC banner, which has brought him quite a bit of criticism when fans discuss the top welterweights in MMA.

Chris Taylor - October 17, 2016

Following news of former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges Saint Pierre becoming a free agent, ONE FC champion Ben Askren has officially called out GSP. The longtime UFC champ broke the news of his free agency on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, and Askren must have been listening, as he tweeted this just minutes after GSP’s announcement:

Chris Taylor - April 22, 2016

Former Bellator welterweight champion and current ONE Championship title holder Ben Askren (15-0 MMA) took to Twitter Friday night to poke fun at former UFC title holder Benson Henderson for losing his Bellator debut. “Funky”, who defeated Andrey Koreshkov via fourth-round TKO at Bellator 97 in July of 2013, had the following tweets directed at “Bendo’s” performance:

Scott Hernandez - February 11, 2016

This has to be one of the funniest videos we’ve seen in quite some time.