Ben Askren

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.

1. Early Life and Career
2. Ben Askren Bellator
3. Ben Askren One Championship
4. Ben Askren UFC
5. Ben Askren vs Jake Paul
6. Ben Askren Stats
7. Ben Askren Last Fight
8. Ben Askren Record

Early Life and Career

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.

Ben Askren Bellator

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 One Championship

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 Askren UFC

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 vs Jake Paul

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 Stats

Current Status:

Ben Askren's current record stands at 19-2-1. He retired from professional MMA in 2019

Win-Loss-NC:

Matches	Wins	Losses	No Contest
22	19	2	1

Wins by KO/TKOs:

1. 6

Wins by Submission:

1. 6

Wins by Decision:

1. 7

Weight:

1. 170 lb / 77 kg

Weight Class:

1. Welterweight (2009-2016,2019-present)
2. Middleweight (2016-2017)

Ben Askren Last Fight

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.

Ben Askren Record

Below is the professional MMA record of Ben "Funky" Askren:

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date
Loss	19-2 (1)	Demian Maia	Technical Submission (rear-naked choke)	UFC Fight Night 162: Maia vs Askren	October 26, 2019
Loss	19–1 (1)	Jorge Masvidal	KO (flying knee)	UFC 239	July 6, 2019
Win	19–0 (1)	Robbie Lawler	Technical Submission (bulldog choke)	UFC 235	March 2, 2019
Win	18–0 (1)	Shinya Aoki	TKO (punches)	ONE Championship 62: Immortal Pursuit	November 24, 2017
Win	17–0 (1)	Zebaztian Kadestam	TKO (punches)	ONE Championship 58: Shanghai	September 2, 2017
Win	16–0 (1)	Agilan Thani	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	ONE Championship 54: Dynasty of Heroes	May 26, 2017
Win	15–0 (1)	Nikolay Aleksakhin	Decision (unanimous)	ONE Championship 41: Global Rivals	April 15, 2016
NC	14–0 (1)	Luis Santos	NC (accidental eye poke)	ONE Championship 26: Valor of Champions	April 24, 2015
Win	14–0	Nobutatsu Suzuki	TKO (punches)	ONE FC 19: Reign of Champions	August 29, 2014
Win	13–0	Bakhtiyar Abbasov	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	ONE FC 16: Honor and Glory	May 30, 2014
Win	12–0	Andrey Koreshkov	TKO (punches)	Bellator 97	July 31, 2013
Win	11–0	Karl Amoussou	TKO (doctor stoppage)	Bellator 86	January 24, 2013
Win	10–0	Douglas Lima	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 64	April 6, 2012
Win	9–0	Jay Hieron	Decision (split)	Bellator 56	October 29, 2011
Win	8–0	Nick Thompson	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 40	April 9, 2011
Win	7–0	Lyman Good	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 33	October 21, 2010
Win	6–0	Dan Hornbuckle	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 22	June 17, 2010
Win	5–0	Ryan Thomas	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 19	May 20, 2010
Win	4–0	Ryan Thomas	Technical Submission (guillotine choke)	Bellator 14	April 15, 2010
Win	3–0	Matt Delanoit	Submission (north-south choke)	Max Fights DM: Ballroom Brawl	August 28, 2009
Win	2–0	Mitchell Harris	Submission (reverse arm-triangle choke)	Headhunter Productions: The Patriot Act 2	April 25, 2009
Win	1–0	Josh Flowers	TKO (punches)	Headhunter Productions: The Patriot Act	February 7, 2009