Ben "Funky" Askren is a former Bellator and One Championship Welterweight Champion with a professional MMA record of 19-wins, 2-losses, and 1-No-Contest. He retired from professional MMA in 2019.
Askren started training in wrestling at the age of 6 under his father's tutelage and would start taking it seriously in sixth grade. Askren would win the WIAA (Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association) twice in high school before going to college.
In his college years, Askren would amass a record of 153-8 with 91 victories coming via pin. He would win 2 Big Championships, 2 NCAA Division Championships, a Schallas award, and Two Dan Hodge Trophies.
Ben would then compete in the 2008 Olympics in the Freestyle Category in the 74kg category. He would lose in the quarterfinals against Ivan Fundora. Following his loss at the Olympics, Askren decided to pursue MMA.
Askren made his professional MMA debut against Josh Flowers at Headhunter Productions: The Patriot Act. Askren won his debut in the first round via TKO(punches) and then won his next 2 fights in dominating fashion before signing up with Bellator Fighting Championship.
Askren made his Bellator debut in 2010 in the promotions' second season Welterweight Tournament. Ben dominated everyone in the tournament. He defeated Ryan Thomas twice at Bellator 14 and 19 in the quarterfinal and semifinal of the tournament and then defeated Dan Hornbuckle in the final at Bellator 22 to win the tournament.
Askren faced Lyman Good at Bellator 33 for the Bellator Welterweight Championship. He would win the fight via Unanimous Decision to win the belt. After this, he would defeat Nick Thompson and then defend the title against Jay Hieron, Douglas Lima, Karl Amoussou, and Andrey Koreshkov. After defending his title against Koreshkov at Bellator 97, Askren vacated it to join One Championship with a professional record of 12-0.
Ben Askren made his ONE Championship at ONE FC: Honor and Glory against Bakhtiyar Abbasov and called out Nobutatsu Suzuki to get a title shot at the ONE Welterweight Championship. Asken fought Suzuki at ONE Championship: Reign of Champions in 2014. Askren defeated Suzuki in the first round via TKO(punches) and became the new ONE Welterweight Champion.
Askren's first title defense was against Luis Santos. The fight ended in a No-Contest due to Accidental Eye Poke. Following this, Askren defeated Nikolay Aleksakhin, Agilan Thani, Zebaztian Kadestam, and Shinya Aoki. Following this win, he announced retirement from the sport.
Ben joined UFC in 2018 as a trade made by ONE FC to the UFC for Demetrius Johnson. Askren would make his UFC debut at UFC 235 against Robbie Lawler. Askren won the fight by a controversial stoppage as Herb Dean(the referee) stopped the fight when Askren locked in the bulldog choke without Lawler tapping out or passing out. Following this controversial loss, Ben faced Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239. Masvidal would end Askren's 10-year unbeaten run in professional MMA by landing a fly knee and knocking out Askren in 5 seconds. After this loss, Askren fought Demian Maia at UFC Fight Maia vs. Askren. Askren would again lose, but this time in the third round by Technical Submission(rear-naked choke). Following this, Ben announced his retirement from the sport in November 2019.
Ben Askren fought Jake Paul in a boxing match on 17 April 2021. Askren lost the bout in the first round via TKO in a controversial early stoppage. This was Askren's First and only professional boxing match.
Ben Askren's current record stands at 19-2-1. He retired from professional MMA in 2019
Ben Askren's last fight was against Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night Maia vs Askren. He would lose the fight in the third round via technical submission.
Below is the professional MMA record of Ben "Funky" Askren:
