Ben Askren is a former professional mixed martial artist from the United States who was also an amateur wrestler. He had a very successful MMA career and won the Bellator and ONE Welterweight Championship. After that, he participated in UFC matches before announcing his retirement in 2019. He previously participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as a member of the US wrestling team. When Ben Askren started wrestling in high school, he won two state championships, as well as a junior national championship.
Background
Ben Askren was born to Chuck and Michele Askren on 18th July, 1984 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has a brother known as Max Askren. Been Askren is 38 years old.
He was up in Wisconsin, where he graduated from the University of Missouri in 2007 after attending Arrowhead High School and afterwards the University of Missouri.
Although he participated in many sports as a child, wrestling ultimately captured his attention more. He was just six years old when his father first introduced him to wrestling, but after joining a club in the sixth grade, he took the sport seriously.
Height
Ben Askren is 5 ft and 10 inches tall and weighs 77 kilograms (170 lbs). In conclusion, Ben is a rather handsome guy with dark brown hair and bluish eyes.
Ben Askren net worth
Ben Askren’s net worth is about $10 million as of June 2021. The majority of his wealth came from his professional MMA fighting career.
Above all, it is alleged in certain web sources that he made over $830,500 in career earnings from the UFC, which is unquestionably more than the average professional earns in the field.
His UFC debut brought in $353,000 for him. That was certainly impressive!
As of right now, Wisconsin’s Hartland, Mequon, and Green Bay are the locations where Ben and his brother Max operate the “Askren Wrestling Academy,” a wrestling school.
Additionally, he co-hosts two weekly wrestling podcasts with Front Row Brian and Tommy Rowlands, “The Funky & FRB Show” and “The T-Row & Funky Show,” as well as his own “RUDIS Wrestling Podcast.” He also has sponsorship deals with Dollamur Sport, My Bookie, and Reebok.
He is sponsored by Discraft and has reportedly made cryptocurrency investments.
To be clear, some sources state that he currently earns a total of about $500,000 per year. Additionally, he has owned Rolls Royces and other high-end vehicles in addition to his Lamborghini.
In summary, he leads a contented, affluent existence. And he deserves it all after all the years of conflict both on and off the stage.
Career
In his senior year of high school, Ben Askren won the state wrestling title twice (in 2001 and 2002) and the Junior National competition.
He competed in NCAA Division I wrestling at the 174-pound weight class while in college, representing the Missouri Tigers. He made it to the finals four times, and after coming in second in his first two seasons, he dominated the next two, winning the NCAA Division I Championship twice (2006 and 2007).
Ben Askren won 87 consecutive games in the final two seasons to maintain his perfect record. He won the Dan Hodge Award for top collegiate wrestler of the year in each of the two years due to his NCAA success. For both years, he received the Schalles award for Top Collegiate Pinner of the Year.
Ben Askren gained a reputation for his unique funky wrestling style and pinning prowess in college.
He finished his college career with a record of 153-8, two Big 12 Championship victories, and 91 pins, which ranks third in NCAA Division 1 history. He was later admitted to the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Following his time in college, he served as a volunteer assistant coach in Columbia before accepting a coaching position at Arizona St. Along with his brother Max, he also organized wrestling camps for kids.
He also improved his freestyle wrestling abilities during this time, winning the US National Championship in 2008.
His victory in the 74kg freestyle championship at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials earned him a spot in the Beijing Olympics. He won his first match at the Olympics before losing and being eliminated.
He made the decision to pursue a career in mixed martial arts (MMA) following the Olympics, and so he started working out at the main American Top Team facility in Florida. Josh Flowers was the opponent for his 2009 Columbia professional MMA debut, which he won.
He competed in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship that same year and beat Toni Linden before losing to seasoned wrestler Pablo Popovitch. He defeated last year’s champion Jacob Volkmann to earn the gold medal in the FILA 2° World Grappling Championship in 2009.
Ben Askren occasionally participated in wrestling contests despite switching to MMA. In 2010, he won the Cerro Pelado International Senior Freestyle competition’s silver medal and the Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle championship. Later, he also competed in the Flo Premier League, the Beat the Streets charity event, and the Agon Wrestling Championships.
After defeating Dan Hornbuckle, he then joined Bellator MMA and won the Season Two Welterweight Tournament in June 2010.
He defeated Lyman Good in October 2010 to win the Bellator Welterweight Championship. The next four title defenses took place at Bellator 56, 64, 86, and 97. In Bellator’s history, this was one of the best title defenses.
At Bellator, he had a 9-0 unbeaten record. When he left Bellator in 2013 and signed a two-year, six-fight contract with ONE Championship, he did not lose his title; rather, he vacated it.
He won the ONE Welterweight Champion title in 2014 by defeating Nobutatsu Suzuki at ONE FC: Reign of Champions. By defeating opponents such as Nikolay Aleksakhin, Agilan Thani, Zebaztian Kadestam, and Shinya Aoki, he was able to keep the title for the following three years. He gave up the position in 2017 when he departed the organization.
He joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2018, and in March 2019 he defeated Robbie Lawler to win UFC 235. Later, in July of the same year, Jorge Masvidal knocked him out.
His winning streak came to an end when he was knocked out five seconds into the first round, making it the fastest knockout in UFC history.
He lost another battle in October 2019 at UFC Fight of the Night, this time to MMA veteran Demian Maia. He declared his retirement from MMA the following month.
Ben Askren, who is supported by Discraft, has a background in competitive disc golf in addition to professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
He won the Mighty MO Advanced tournament in 2009, finished second in the St. Louis Open Advanced, third at the First Class Challenge, and fourth at the PDGA Amateur World Doubles Championships Advanced. He achieved second place in the 2011 US Amateur Disc Golf Championship.
After retiring, Ben Askren oversees the Askren Wrestling Academy, which he and his brother Max founded in 2011. The academy now has three locations: Green Bay, North Shore, and Lake Country.
Additionally, he co-hosts a several podcasts, including The Funky & FRB Show, The T-Row & Funky Show, and FloWrestling Radio Live. Additionally, he has presided over the RUDIS Wrestling Podcast.
In addition to promoting companies like Dollamur Sport, My Bookie, and Reebok, he has made bitcoin investments.
He competed in his first professional boxing match in 2021 against Internet sensation Jake Paul. Paul knocked him out in the opening round.
Who is Ben Askren’s wife?
Ben married Amy Askren in front of their friends and family on April 9, 2010. He has so far given birth to three children with her: a son and two girls.
Ben loves going on his holidays and vacations with his wife and kids.
Because of this, he should have a happy marriage, and Amy was very supportive of his career. However, specific information regarding his offspring has not been discovered.
Achievements
During his 2005–2006 collegiate season, Ben Askren pin 25 of the 45 matches he pinned, earning him the Schalles Award for Top Collegiate Pinner of the Year in 2006 and 2007.
He won the NCAA Division I Championship there in 2006 and 2007 and was a finalist for the NCAA Division I All-American team for four straight years starting in 2004.
Dan Hodge Trophy for Collegiate Wrestler of the Year was given to him in 2006 and 2007. In 2012, the University of Missouri honored him by induction into the Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
Similarly, Askren took home gold medals at the Senior Freestyle events of the 2005 Pan American Championships, the Senior Freestyle events of the 2007 and 2009 Hargobind International Tournament, and more.
Similar to this, Ben Askren won gold medals at the Senior Freestyle events of the 2005 Pan American Championships, the Senior Freestyle events of the 2007 and 2009 Hargobind International Tournament,
The most notable competitions were the FILA 2009 Grappling World Championships Senior No-Gi, the 2007 NYAC Holiday International Open Senior Freestyle, and the 2010 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle.
He won the Senior No-Gi FILA World Team Trials in 2009 and the USA Senior Freestyle National Championship in 2008.
Ben also took home the welterweight championship for Bellator Season 2. He has also successfully defended the belt for the most consecutive years in Bellator history (four).
In addition, he has successfully made three title defenses as the ONE Welterweight Champion since gaining it in 2014.
Ben plays disc golf competitively in addition to these other sports. He finished second in the 2011 United States Amateur Disc Golf Championship, for instance.
2009 Mighty MO Advanced: 1st place; 2006 Alabama Amateur Open Intermediate: 3rd place; 2009 First Class Challenge: 3rd place.
He also placed fourth in the 2009 PDGA Amateur World Doubles Championships Advanced in addition to this.
What did Ben Askren say to Kamaru Usman?
Ben Askren basically referred to Kamaru Usman as a “fake,” though. According to Ben, Usman’s personality altered after he began competing in mixed martial arts. In addition, he asserted that Usman is acting, and that the public can see right through it.
What is Ben Askren’s boxing or MMA record? Who is his boxing coach?
Ben Askren has a 19-19 record in mixed martial arts (MMA), with 2 losses and 1 no-contest. His victories include six by submission, six more via knockout, and the final seven by decision.
He has also had a knockout and a submission loss.
Freddie Roach is Ben’s boxing instructor, after all.
Social Media
Been Askren is active on social media. He has more than 349,000 Twitter followers, and 626,000 Instagram followers, and as of September 2021, 70,957 people were fans of his Facebook page. He also appears to be regularly adding posts and reading the comments.
