Ben Askren News

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2020

Former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren isn’t sold on red-hot UFC welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev just yet. Chimaev was the breakout star of the UFC’s four-even stint on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi in July. The Chechen-Swede won two fights in a 10-day span, submitting John Phillips at middleweight and Rhys McKee by TKO at welterweight—both in the first round.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2020

Ben Askren believes he knows what Tyron Woodley needs to do in order to knock out Colby Covington in the main event of UFC on ESPN 11 this weekend. Woodley will enter his fight with Covington on a two-fight skid, having given up back-to-back decisions to Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. Askren believes that, in order to return to his old habit of knocking his opponents out, Woodley needs to get out of his own head and let his hands fly.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2020

Ben Askren has some advice for UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards, who is struggling to get a big opportunity despite an eight-fight win-streak. Edwards, who currently holds the No. 3 spot in the UFC welterweight rankings, has gone over a year without a fight, and has grown increasingly bellicose during that time.

Christopher Taylor - September 10, 2020

Like many of us, Ben Askren was very disappointed to hear that a targeted lightweight fight between Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson has fallen apart. Earlier this month it was reported that the Ultimate Fighting Championship was looking to put on a fight between the former interim lightweight title holders in Poirier and Ferguson at UFC 254.

Tom Taylor - September 7, 2020

Former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight titleholder Ben Askren has chimed in on the news that Nick Diaz is plotting a comeback. Diaz, the former Strikeforce welterweight champ and a former UFC welterweight title challenger, has reportedly undergone a test weight cut and is plotting a comeback in 2021. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani shared this exciting news on Sunday evening.

Harry Kettle - September 2, 2020

Former UFC welterweight contender Ben Askren isn’t a fan of the UFC 256 title showdown between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. It’s safe to say that “Funky” is one of the most outspoken figures in recent MMA history, and while his time with the Ultimate Fighting Championship didn’t quite go to plan, he still knows how to rile people up on social media.

Natasha Hooper - September 2, 2020

As soon as he exited the operating theatre, Ben Askren took aim at Sean O’Malley, encouraging him to “toughen up a little bit.” Askren has long been suffering from a hip injury which ultimately impacted his fights against Demian Maia, Jorge Masvidal, and his decision to retire in November 2019. His affliction is the collateral damage of his accomplished wrestling and MMA career which saw him climb through the ranks of Bellator and ONE Championship and perform in the Olympics.

Tom Taylor - August 19, 2020

Tim Welch, one of the coaches behind Sean O’Malley, has responded to some recent comments from former Bellator and ONE Champ Ben Askren. O’Malley last fought in the co-main event of UFC 252 last weekend, succumbing to a volley of punches from Marlon Vera after seemingly injuring his leg. After the fight was stopped, he was stretchered out of the Octagon.

Tom Taylor - August 12, 2020

Former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight titleholder Ben Askren doesn’t have a lot of regrets with respect to his MMA career, but there is one thing he’d do differently. Askren, who retired after going 1-2 in the UFC in 2019, was asked by a fan if there is anything he wishes he could change about his MMA journey. He issued a lengthy and thoughtful response on Twitter.

Tom Taylor - August 11, 2020

Ben Askren, never one to shy away from a Twitter skirmish, has recently been getting into it with YouTube star Logan Paul. Earlier this week, Paul issued an open challenge, offering up $10,000 to any social media influencer who can beat him in a wrestling match.

Tom Taylor - August 5, 2020

Former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren says he “probably would” fight again, but the circumstances would have to be right. Askren retired in 2019, after sustaining back-to-back losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia—a knockout and a submission respectively. In his retirement announcement, he cited a need for a hip replacement.

Adam Martin - July 17, 2020

Former UFC welterweight star Ben Askren named Khabib Nurmagomedov as the one dream opponent he wanted outside of his normal weight class of 170lbs. Askren retired from MMA last year after compiling a 19-2, 1 NC record from 2009 to 2019. A former champion in Bellator and ONE Championship, Askren joined the UFC in a game-breaking trade for pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson in 2018. The journey to the UFC didn’t go as planned for Askren, who suffered back-to-back stoppage losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia before deciding to hang up his gloves at age 34. He cited the need for a hip replacement as one of the reasons why he decided to retire.

Harry Kettle - July 9, 2020

Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren has said he isn’t surprised by the recent actions of controversial UFC fighter Mike Perry. Footage emerged last night of Perry, who recently beat Mickey Gall in a decisive unanimous decision, getting into a fight with a man before going on a verbal tirade to both those in attendance and his girlfriend.

Cole Shelton - July 8, 2020

Ben Askren believes he played a major part in Jorge Masvidal’s rise to superstardom. After “Gamebred” knocked out Darren Till in the main event of UFC London, “Funky” was taking shots at Masvidal to try and get him to accept the fight. After several jabs, it worked and the two fought at UFC 239 where it was expected the winner would get a title shot.

Natasha Hooper - July 6, 2020

Ben Askren has reacted to the news of his former opponent Jorge Masvidal’s upcoming fight against Kamaru Usman. On Sunday it was announced that the UFC welterweight champion Usman and the ‘BMF’ winner Masvidal will collide at Saturday’s UFC 251 event on Dana White’s Fight Island.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2020

Former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren has some financial advice for his fellow fighters. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Askren, who recently retired from competition after a 1-2 stretch in the UFC, emphasized the importance of saving, investing, and creating secondary sources of income for fighters.

Tom Taylor - May 26, 2020

Former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren recently shared the names of the fighters he believes belong in the GOAT debate in MMA, but his list did not include former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. 7 People in discussion for MMA GOAT. Some have much better cases than others, but all have cases. Fedor and BJ would have had cases had they retired earlier.

Natasha Hooper - May 26, 2020

Ben Askren has named the top 7 fighters he thinks could all make a case for the GOAT of MMA. The “Greatest Of All Time” fighter in MMA has been a hot topic of discussion recently after Conor McGregor named his top picks. “The Notorious” listed Anderson Silva as the number 1 GOAT, following himself who he listed behind in close second. Read his full MMA GOAT rankings below.