Ben Askren News
Jorge Masvidal offers Ben Askren a job in his creative department, "Funky" responds
Natasha Hooper - April 3, 2020
Jorge Masvidal may have found a new friend in his former foe, Ben Askren. On Twitter, the “BMF” winner asked his former opponent to join his “creative department”, to which “Funky” responded. In recent months, Masvidal has been targetting the welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. The fighters are expected to collide in the Octagon soon. For the meantime, “Gamebred” has used his time to mock the champion and even accuse him of having “multiple personalities”. This week, he posted a video of Usman that shows “The Nigerian Nightmare” contradicting himself and previously praising the BMF champion.
Ben Askren breaks down 'fascinating' Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson fight
Tom Taylor - March 20, 2020
Ben Askren is very excited for the upcoming lightweight title fight between champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and challenger Tony Ferguson — which is why he’s offered up a plan to ensure it still happens despite the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on a recent episode of Submission Radio, the former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight king delved into the nuances of the matchup.
Ben Askren has an idea to ensure Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson happens
Tom Taylor - March 20, 2020
Ben Askren wants to see Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson fight as a badly as the rest of us, and he’s got an idea he believes will ensure the fight happens even amid coronavirus-related restrictions. Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have been scheduled to fight four times previously to no avail. The UFC attempted to book them for a fifth time at UFC 249 on April 18 in Brooklyn, New York, but of course the coronavirus pandemic had to come along and derail that plan.
Ben Askren roasts Kamaru Usman: He's 'the worst promoter in the history of mixed martial arts'
Tom Taylor - March 19, 2020
Ben Askren believes UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman had a golden opportunity to gain some traction with the fans when he fought Colby Covington at UFC 245 last December. By Askren’s estimation, Covington is arguably the most hated fighter in MMA at present. As a result, he feels Usman could have gained some real popularity if he’d played the good guy in the lead-up to his fight with Covington.
Ben Askren says UFC fighters need to form a union in order to receive “fair compensation”
Adam D Martin - March 1, 2020
Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren says that the promotion’s current fighters need to form a union in order to receive “fair compensation.” A recent report from the New York Post revealed that UFC fighters are raging over their low pay while the promotion’s investors are reaping big dividends. UFC fighters, and MMA fighters in general, receive far less pay than the major four sports leagues in North America (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) and many fighters have had enough of it.
Ben Askren shares his safe bets for UFC 246: McGregor vs Cerrone
Chris Taylor - January 18, 2020
Former Bellator and ONE champion Ben Askren believes there are some safe bets for tonight’s UFC 246: McGregor vs Cerrone event. The welterweight standout, Askren, who recently retired following his submission loss to Demian Maia at UFC Singapore, recently took to Twitter with the following information.
Ben Askren predicts Maycee Barber will be champion by 2021
Mike Pendleton - January 9, 2020
Before she got her scheduled fight against Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246, Maycee Barber was very public and open in her pursuit of a possible fight against Paige VanZant. For whatever the reason, the UFC decided to match Barber against Modafferi at next weekend’s UFC 246 event, while VanZant will face Amanda Ribas in March. While a fight with VanZant would have been an easy way for more eyes to get on Barber who is ranked 9th in the flyweight division, a fight with Modafferi, who is ranked 7th in the division, makes more sense in Barber’s pursuit of a title.
Ben Askren picks Jorge Masvidal as 2019 Fighter of The Year
Harry Kettle - January 9, 2020
Retired UFC star Ben Askren has swallowed his pride and picked Jorge Masvidal as his 2019 Fighter of the Year. Heading into 2019 nobody was really giving Masvidal a second thought, whereas Askren was one of the hottest things in mixed martial arts. Then, when “Gamebred” finished Darren Till and Askren controversially submitted Robbie Lawler, the stars aligned for the two to fight at UFC 239.
Ben Askren takes aim at 'dork' Conor McGregor after NMF Title tweet
Harry Kettle - December 17, 2019
There’s a lot to be said for Conor McGregor’s persona, mainly because it’s gotten him to such a high point within the landscape of mixed martial arts. The popular Irishman has certainly hit a few speed bumps along the way in the last few years, but now that he has his return fight against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone officially booked, many fans are anticipating that this could be his return to winning ways – with 2020 being highlighted as a potentially defining year for his career.
Ben Askren believes Kamaru Usman made crucial error in UFC 245 post-fight interview
Tom Taylor - December 16, 2019
Kamaru Usman got the win he sought at UFC 245, weathering some early adversity to stop his ferocious challenger Colby Covington in the fifth round. According to the newly retired Ben Askren, however, Usman made one key blunder at UFC 245: He fibbed to the fans in his post-fight interview. Early on in his interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan, Usman claimed that he was too mentally tough to be phased by Covington’s pre-fight trash talk. Shortly thereafter, he attributed his early blunders in the fight to being too emotional due to Covington’s pre-fight trash talk.
Jorge Masvidal gives a respectful shoutout to Ben Askren, "Funky" responds
Cole Shelton - December 15, 2019
Jorge Masvidal and Ben Askren had one of the bigger rivalries this year, yet it appears that beef has been squashed. In the lead up to their UFC 239 fight, the two traded shots at one another making their scrap one of the most highly anticipated bouts on the card. But, the fight itself did not last long, as Masvidal knocked out Askren in five seconds with a flying knee. After the bout, “Gamebred” continued his trash talk towards “Funky.”
Ben Askren roasts Colby Covington over failed Kamaru Usman diss
Harry Kettle - December 13, 2019
Ben Askren may not be competing inside the Octagon anymore, but he can certainly give his views on what’s happening in the current landscape of the sport – and as you can imagine, he’s quite interested in the headliner at UFC 245 this Saturday night. Askren is a known critic of both Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman, the two of whom will meet for the UFC Welterweight Championship tomorrow night in Las Vegas, Nevada. At one stage it even looked like Askren’s trajectory was taking him towards a fight against one of these two men, but Jorge Masvidal had other ideas.
Jorge Masvidal reacts to Ben Askren's retirement
Tom Taylor - November 28, 2019
Earlier this month, former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren announced his retirement from MMA. This week, Jorge Masvidal — easily Askren’s most high-profile rival in the UFC —gave his take on that retirement. Despite the war of words that raged between Askren and Masvidal, and the violent way with which their fight ended, Masvidal surprisingly tipped his hat to Askren and shared his belief that the wrestler shouldn’t have retired so soon.
Michael Bisping scoffs at Ben Askren retiring over a hip replacement
Chris Taylor - November 23, 2019
Michael Bisping is not buying that Ben Askren retired from the sport of mixed martial arts due to his need for a hip replacement. The former UFC middleweight champion discussed Askren’s recently announced retirement on his most recent edition of the ‘Believe You Me’ podcast where he insinuated that hip replacement is not career-ending surgery, unless you want it to be.
Brendan Schaub weighs in on Ben Askren's retirement
Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 21, 2019
Brendan Schaub is giving Ben Askren props for giving it a shot with the UFC. Askren wrapped up his MMA career after going 1-2 under the UFC banner. “Funky” cited needing to undergo hip replacement surgery as the reason for his decision. While Askren’s UFC run may not have been a total success, his reigns as the Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight ruler haven’t gone unnoticed.
Ben Askren wants to give television commentary a try
Adam Martin - November 20, 2019
Recently retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren says that he wants to give television commentary for MMA events a try now that his fighting career is over. Askren announced his retirement Monday on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, citing a need for hip replacement surgery as the main factor behind his decision. Askren was undefeated heading into the UFC with a 18-0, 1 NC record and was the former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champion. But he struggled in the Octagon with just a 1-2 record, including back-to-back stoppage losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia.
Dillon Danis sends message to newly retired Ben Askren
Tom Taylor - November 19, 2019
From the moment Ben Askren announced his retirement from MMA, you knew it was only a matter of time before Dillon Danis — one of Askren’s chief naysayers — chimed in. It’s finally happened.
ONE Championship pays tribute to retired Ben Askren
Tom Taylor - November 19, 2019
Ben Askren announced his retirement on Monday afternoon, and he’s been receiving love from the MMA community ever since. He even got a nice tribute from ONE Championship, the organization that famously traded him to the UFC for Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in 2018. See how ONE Championship sent Ben Askren off into retirement below: