What is Ben Askren’s MMA and Wrestling record?
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Ben Askren is set to take on Jake Paul in an eight round pro-boxing match on the 17th of April, this year. Not only was Ben Askren an accomplished mixed martial artist, but also an amateur wrestler.
An accomplished grappler, he was a US Olympic Team Member and Pan American Champion in freestyle wrestling, a two-time NCAA Division I National champion (four-time finalist) and two-time Big 12 Conference champion (four-time finalist) for the Missouri Tigers, and was the second wrestler to secure multiple Dan Hodge Trophies (equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) in folkstyle wrestling. He was also a World Champion in submission wrestling. [via WikiPedia]
His only 2 losses in MMA, against Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia, which also happened to be his last two fights in his career, tell a different story, burying the incredible talent he was, during his time at Bellator and ONE Championship. And, not to forget are his impressive Freestyle, NCAA and submission grappling records.
The 5-second KO loss, that spelled the doom!
Ben Askren, made his professional MMA debut at Headhunter Productions : The Patriot Act, back in February 2009. He started off with a TKO win over Josh Flowers and made his move to the Bellator in a year. And, in the same year, in only his 4th Bellator fight, Ben Askren won the Bellator Welterweight Championship. After successfully defending the title four times, Askren vacated the title in 2014 and moved to ONE Championship. He won the ONE Welterweight Championship, in double-quick time, after beating Nobutatsu Suzuki via TKO.
Following a series of successful title defenses at ONE Championship, Askren finally moved to the biggest fight promotion – the UFC in 2019. He started his UFC career with a bang, as he defeated the vastly talented Robbie Lawler in the very first round, via. a bulldog choke. Little did he know then, that his doom was near. A devastating five second loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239, completely shattered him. But, he somehow picked himself up and tried to get back to winning ways, against Demian Maia – he succumbed to him as well. Askren announced his retirement after that loss!
Ben the grappler!
Barring a match against Jordan Burroughs, in 2019, Ben Askren last competed in wrestling, way back in 2011 against UFC’s very own Gerald Meerschaert in a submission grappling match. Askren has an impressive record in submission grappling, winning 12 out of his 14 fights, losing just two. His NCAA record is an impressive 17-2 and Freestyle record being 29-10.
And, now he is all set to make his pro-boxing debut, after involving himself in a myriad of sports!
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Gerard Crispin
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