Ben Askren is a retired American mixed martial artist, professional boxer, and former Olympic wrestler. He achieved notable success in MMA, holding the Welterweight Championships in both Bellator and ONE FC. He was known for his dominant wrestling style and unorthodox striking. Askren also had a brief stint in the UFC before retiring from professional competition.
On July 18, 1984, Benjamin Michael Askren was born. He would later become an American former professional mixed martial artist, professional boxer, and Olympic wrestler.
In 2003, Ben Askren began his freshman campaign wrestling for the Missouri Tigers at 174 pounds.
In 2004, during his freshman year, Askren won the Big 12 Conference Championships and placed second at the NCAA Championships.
In 2005, Ben Askren became the Pan American champion as a freestyle wrestler.
In 2005, during his sophomore campaign, Askren placed second at both the NCAA and Big 12 Championships, losing both championship matches to Pendleton.
In 2006, Askren earned the Dan Hodge Trophy and Schalles Award after compiling a combined 87–0 record during his junior and senior seasons.
In 2007, Askren won his second Dan Hodge Trophy and Schalles Award after compiling a combined 87–0 record during his junior and senior seasons.
In 2007, after working on adapting his style, Askren claimed the US National Championship in April after graduating from college.
In 2008, Ben Askren made the US Olympic Team and competed at the Summer Olympics, defeating Hungarian István Veréb in the first round before falling to Cuba's Iván Fundora in the quarterfinals.
In 2008, Ben Askren was a member of the US Olympic Team as an accomplished grappler in freestyle wrestling.
In 2008, Jacob Volkmann becomes World Champion.
On February 7, 2009, Askren made his professional MMA debut at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center in Columbia, Missouri, defeating Josh Flowers via TKO in the first round.
In 2009, Askren competed at the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, winning his first match against Toni Linden before losing to Pablo Popovitch.
In 2009, Askren finished ninth in the Amateur World Championships in the sport of disc golf.
In 2009, Askren won gold at the FILA 2° World Grappling Championship in the 84 kg no-gi division, defeating Jacob Volkmann.
In 2009, Jake Herbert won the silver medal for the world.
On April 15, 2010, Askren defeated Ryan Thomas via technical submission at Bellator 14 during the Bellator Fighting Championships Season 2 Welterweight Tournament.
On October 21, 2010, Ben Askren won the Bellator Welterweight Championship by defeating Lyman Good via unanimous decision in Philadelphia.
In 2010, Askren avenged his Olympic loss by defeating Ivan Fundora in the semifinals of the Cerro Pelado International in Cuba. Later that year, Askren defeated 2009 world silver medalist Jake Herbert at the Midlands Tournament.
In 2010, Askren married his wife Amy and together they have three children.
On January 9, 2012, Askren was announced as one of six new inductees to the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
On April 6, 2012, Askren successfully defended his Bellator Welterweight title against Douglas Lima at Bellator 64 in Windsor, Canada.
On January 24, 2013, Askren defended his title against Karl Amoussou at Bellator 86. The fight was stopped due to a severe cut on Amoussou's forehead.
On November 14, 2013, Bellator announced they had released Askren from the company, making him an unrestricted free agent.
On December 9, 2013, Askren signed a two-year, six-fight contract with ONE Championship.
On August 29, 2014, Askren defeated Suzuki via TKO at ONE Fighting Championship: Reign of Champions to become the new ONE Welterweight Champion.
On April 15, 2016, Askren defeated Russia's Nikolay Aleksakhin at the ONE Championship: Global Warriors by unanimous decision.
On May 26, 2017, Askren defeated Agilan Thani via submission at the ONE Championship: Dynasty of Heroes.
On September 7, 2017, Askren defeated Zebaztian Kadestam via TKO at the ONE Championship: Shanghai.
On November 24, 2017, Askren defeated Shinya Aoki at ONE Championship: Immortal Pursuit via TKO and announced his retirement from the sport.
On November 3, 2018, it was announced that Askren had signed with the UFC under the "trade UFC and One Championship agreement", in exchange for Demetrious Johnson.
On March 2, 2019, Askren made his UFC debut against Robbie Lawler at UFC 235, winning the fight via bulldog choke in the first round through a controversial stoppage.
In May 2019, Askren lost by technical superiority to Jordan Burroughs at the annual Beat the Streets benefit event.
On July 6, 2019, Askren faced Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239 and was knocked out with a flying knee five seconds into the first round, resulting in the fastest knockout in UFC history and ending his undefeated run.
On October 26, 2019, Askren faced Demian Maia at UFC on ESPN+ 20 and lost the fight via technical submission in round three, earning the Fight of the Night award.
On November 18, 2019, Askren announced his official retirement from mixed martial arts competition.
In 2020, after retiring from MMA, Askren announced a successful hip surgery and revealed his intention to return to competitive freestyle wrestling.
On April 17, 2021, Askren fought Jake Paul in a boxing match and lost by TKO in round one. The fight sold 500,000 PPV buys.
As early as 2021, Askren expressed interest in returning for one more bout in mixed martial arts, should he be able to have a rematch with his former rival Masvidal.
On June 7, 2025, Amy Askren announced that Askren had been hospitalized with "severe pneumonia" resulting from a staph infection, requiring sedation and potentially a lung transplant.
On June 17, 2025, Amy Askren posted that Askren was showing signs of improvement, being "able to open his eyes and squeeze hands", though he remained on a ventilator and an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system.
On June 30, 2025, Askren's wife announced that Askren had received a double lung transplant.
On July 9, 2025, Askren posted a video discussing his condition, mentioning memory loss, flatlining four times, and losing 50 pounds during his illness.
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