UFC News: Chris Weidman sends a message following Ben Askren's retirement 

Ben Askren shocked the MMA world yesterday when he announced his retirement from the sport during his appearance on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show.

Reactions to his unforeseen retirement poured in from all quarters of the MMA fraternity and Chris Weidman was one of the many fighters who took to Twitter to show some love to Askren.

The former UFC Middleweight Champion revealed Askren had a big influence on his career as they both come from grappling backgrounds.

Askren has been an inspiration to Weidman, who has learned a lot from the former Bellator Champion's unique approach to fighting.

Weidman also reminisced his high school days when he wrestled Askren.

Here's what Weidman wrote in his tweet:

“Congrats @Benaskren on an amazing career! You were a huge inspiration to me and many more. From wrestling you in high school when I was very young to watching you throughout your wrestling and MMA careers.I learned a lot from your unique techniques as well as your mindset #funky”.

Congrats @Benaskren on an amazing career!You were a huge inspiration to me and many more. From wrestling you in high school when I was very young 😆to watching you throughout your wrestling and Mma careers.I learned a lot from your unique techniques as well as your mindset #funky

— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) November 19, 2019

Askren may not have had a storybook UFC career but the former ONE FC Champion still managed to captivate the imaginations of the UFC faithful during his short stint with the promotion.

Ben Askren retires from the sport of MMA with an 18-2 record, with both his losses coming in the UFC. While he may be done as an active competitor, Askren still has a lot to offer to the sport of MMA as a wrestling coach and we'll surely be seeing him around quite often.