When a hip replacement surgery forced Ben Askren to retire from MMA

Ben Askren has been making news recently because of his upcoming professional boxing debut against YouTuber Jake Paul. 'Funky' isn't known for his striking, but is a former Olympian and champion at Bellator and ONE Championship. He moved to the UFC from ONE Championship as part of a historic trade between the two organizations.

Ben Askren amassed an impressive 18-0-1 record before moving to the UFC. Apart from the one no-contest, Askren's MMA record was lined with convincing victories.

His first fight in the UFC was against former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 235, whom he submitted via a bulldog choke in round one. The stoppage has been questioned multiple times, but as it stands on the record, Askren beat Lawler in his UFC debut.

Here is the stoppage from the Robbie Lawler vs Ben Askren fight. As Joe Rogan pointed out, Robbie’s arm goes limp. However, as soon as Herb Dean intervenes he’s straight on his feet. Do you think this was an early stoppage?#UFC235 #LawlerAskren pic.twitter.com/70PhukIN5v

— Steven Rae (@StevenRaeMMA) March 3, 2019

Ben Askren's next fight in the UFC would go on to become his most infamous moment, and possibly the most viral MMA clip of all time. He faced Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239 who delivered a flying knee flush to Askren's face, recording the fastest knockout in UFC history.

Not only did this fight taint Ben Askren's undefeated record, but it made him the poster boy for knockout compilations and catapulted Jorge Masvidal to fame.

After the loss to Masvidal in July, Ben Askren returned to face UFC legend Demian Maia in October of the same year. He lost via a rear-naked choke in the third round, receiving two back-to-back losses. In November, Askren announced his retirement from MMA.

Why did Ben Askren retire?

Speaking to ESPN's Ariel Helwani, Ben Askren cited a hip injury as the primary reason for his retirement. He said the verdict came from his doctor prior to his bout against Maia. Mincing no words, he mentioned he had never brought up the injury before because he didn't want people thinking it was an excuse for why he lost.

"I'm retired from the sport of mixed martial arts and frankly, I'm retired from everything."@Benaskren cites needing a hip replacement as a factor in his retirement (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/OZLG2ZDTBj

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 18, 2019

Ben Askren is set to face Jake Paul in a boxing bout on 17th April, and seems to have the entire MMA community rallying in support. As part of that community, we can't wait to see him shut the lights out on this YouTuber pretending to be a boxer.