A look At Ben Askren’s Short UFC Run

Former MMA world champion Ben Askren is one of the more fascinating characters who stepped foot into the octagon in recent years. A standout Olympic wrestler before transitioning into the world of MMA, Ben Askren established a big name for himself before arriving at the UFC tenure, becoming a former Welterweight Champion in ONE Championship. Furthermore, Ben Askren was later traded to the UFC for former UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrius Johnson in November 2018, becoming one of the most anticipated fighters in UFC upon arrival.

However, despite Ben Askren’s championship success in ONE Championship, his accomplishments didn’t transition well into the UFC, based on the hype he received following his arrival. Although he defeated Robbie Lawler in the first round via submission at UFC 235, his second UFC fight with Jorge Masvidal was the beginning of the end of his professional MMA career. Going against someone whom he had a legitimate beef with, even though he engaged in his usual trash-talking techniques, Ben Askren soundly got defeated by Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239 via knockout, which was the fastest knockout in UFC history for Jorge Masvidal.

After his loss to Jorge Masvidal, Ben Askren’s UFC career wouldn’t last very long, as he had his third and final fight of his MMA career against Damien Maia on an October 2019 edition of UFC Fight Night, losing via technical submission in the third round. Ben Askren then announced his retirement from MMA in November 2019.

Because of his decorated wrestling background and colorful personality, many probably wished that Ben Askren’s UFC run could’ve gone further than what it did, as someone like him had the potential of being a box-office draw. However, even though Ben Askren’s UFC run was a letdown, one could argue that his run contributed to the rise of Jorge Masvidal as one of the biggest MMA stars in recent years following Ben Askren’s defeat against him in his second UFC fight.