Benjamin Michael Askren, the short name Ben Askren, born on July 18, 1984, in Cedar Rapids, USA, is an American former professional Mixed Martial Artist. He was the former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion. Aspen remained undefeated for over a decade before competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
He was also a world champion in submission wrestling. Today we shall talk about the reasons why Ben Asken retired from MMA so early.
Reasons for Ben Askren retirement
Athletes are vulnerable to injuries. To avoid unexpected injuries an athlete needs to play safely. Askren was a master of freestyle wrestling.
Askren is also known for his “funky” style of wrestling. This style is unorthodox and relies heavily on scrambling techniques he has developed over the years. Now that just because he likes to put his opponents in scramble situations it doesn’t necessarily mean he is not a technical wrestler. It is unknown how he developed the hip problems. However, after every fight, he experienced acute pain in the hip. With health problems, he fought and lost to Brazilian Mixed Martial Artist Demian Maia by submission. And later, Askren made his professional boxing debut and was knocked out by Jake Paul in one minute and ten seconds. After two consecutive losses, he confirmed that he wouldn’t fight anymore as he needed hip surgery.
Askren had hip surgery:
Askren had been suffering from a nagging pain in one of his hips for a long time. He could become more famous through his fighting if he had no significant hip problems. Under optimal conditions, he had achieved stunning success in MMA fighting. However, after consulting with doctors and exploring his options, it turned out that Askren did not need a full hip replacement. He was lucky that he needed only a partial replacement of hip surgery. Otherwise, he would have to quit athletics in full for good. He would not even be able to run. He took a different route with his surgery in September. The surgery has helped him to become pain-free for the first time in a long time. It was an obvious challenge for him to choose between a career and recovery from distress caused by hip problems.
Askren Admission:
Askren had suffered from hip pain for a long time. But he did not disclose it to save his career. Askren lost back-to-back fights to Demian Maia in the main event of UFC Singapore on October 26, 2019, and to Jorge Masvidal knocked out with a flying knee inside five seconds. He realized that it was time to reveal his health predicament, saying “I’ve been having hip problems, and I finally discussed with my doctor … and I need a [left] hip replacement,” But he was modest enough in his confession about hip problems. The hip issue was beneath his dignity as an excuse for his defeat, as he said in a recent interview with TMZ Sports, that his hip was not the reason he lost the final two bouts of his professional career. To keep the spirit of sport above everything he conceded defeat to his opponents. ” I lost because I was not good enough,” he candidly admitted. He didn’t want to undermine his opponents’ achievement by showing an excuse for his hip problems.
Ben Askren is an undefeated professional MMA fighter and has been regarded as one of the top fighters in the world. He is an outstanding Wrestler Award Winner
at the 2006 NCAA Championships. Because of his left-side hip problem, he suffered for three and a half years until he retired from MMA on Nov. 18, 2019. Although the surgery helped cured him of pain, it couldn’t allow him to regain the profession of an MMA fighter anymore. So he found a graceful exit announcing his retirement decision.