Ben Askren Record, Net Worth, Weight, Age & More!

Who is Ben Askren?

Ben Askren was born on July 18, 1984.  Ben Askren is an American former professional mixed martial artist and elite wrestler.  As a grappler, Ben Askren was a 2008 US Olympic Team Member.  He is both a National wrestling champion and the 2005 Pan American champion in freestyle wrestling.  Ben Askren won two NCAA Division I national championship titles and was a four-time finalist for that honor.  He wrestled for the Missouri Tigers and was only the second wrestler in history to earn multiple Dan Hodge Trophies in folkstyle wrestling.

Who is Ben Askren?

Ben Askren was born on July 18, 1984.  Ben Askren is an American former professional mixed martial artist and elite wrestler.  As a grappler, Ben Askren was a 2008 US Olympic Team Member.  He is both a National wrestling champion and the 2005 Pan American champion in freestyle wrestling.  Ben Askren won two NCAA Division I national championship titles and was a four-time finalist for that honor.  He wrestled for the Missouri Tigers and was only the second wrestler in history to earn multiple Dan Hodge Trophies in folkstyle wrestling.

What This Article Covers:

• Who is Ben Askren?
• How Old is Ben Askren?
• How Much is Ben Askren Worth?
• How Much Does Ben Askren Weigh?
• Ben Askren's Fight List
• Ben Askren's Best Fight of All Time
• Ben Askren's Record

Ben Askren was introduced to wrestling by his father as a young boy aged 6 years old.  It wasn't until late in elementary school, in sixth grade when he joined a wrestling club.  In high school, Ben would win two state championships.  During this same time, he would make it to the podium in folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco Roman.

Ultimate Askren Wrestling by Ben Askren

After high school, Ben would matricualate to University of Missouri.  At Missouri, Ben Askren would cross paths with future MMA stars Tyron Woodley and Michael Chandler.

Funky Wrestling Reversals by Ben Askren

During his first two years at Missouri, Ben Askren would make it to the big stage both years and come up short, placing second it both the NCAA and Big 12 Conference championships.  After these first two attempts, Ben Askren would take his performance to another level.  He would become only the third athlete to earn the Dan Hodge Trophy on multiple occasions.  He would finish his last two years of competitive wrestling with an 87-0 record.

Ben Askren would go on to be considered one of the most dominant collegiate wrestlers of his generation.  With a creative, '"funky" style known for wild scrambling and crushing pinning skill.  All of these elements coupled with his signature afro would make him an extremely well known athlete.  In 2012, he was inducted into his alma maters Hall of Fame.

instructional videos by Ben Askren

After graduating from Missouri, Ben Askren made the adjustment from a folkstyle wrestling approach to freestyle wrestling.  He spent 2007 in the woodshed adapting his wrestling style.  He would go on to win the US National Championship and would follow up with a spot on the US Olympic Team for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Ben Askren would win his first match in the Summer Olympics, but would fall in the quarterfinals.  Journalists would ask him if the transition from a folkstyle ruleset to freestyle was a factor in his performance in the Olympics and he was famously quoted to say that the ruleset wasn't the factor, "I just wasn't good enough," Ben would say, "I sucked."

MMA Takedown Mastery by Ben Askren

Ben Askren would transition into MMA while occasionally competing in wrestling events.  He would avenge his Olympic loss against Fundora while competing int he Cerro Pelado International in Cuba.  Ben Askren would win the Dave Schulz Memorial International tournament as well.

As a mixed martial artist, Ben was the former welterweight champion for both Bellator and One Fighting Championships. he would fight numerous times in the UFC before stepping away to retire.

How Old is Ben Askren?

Ben Askren was born on July 18, 1984.  He is currently 36 years old. 

Ben Askren Family

Ben Askren and his wife Amy have been married for over a decade, after having tied the knot in 2010.  They have three children from the marriage.

Ben Askren's parents are Chuck and Michelle Askren.  Ben has one sibling Max Askren, who also has dedicated his life to grappling.  Max Askren was also a NCAA College wrestling champion.  Ben Askren and his brother Max are co-owners of the Askren Wrestling Academy.

Winning The High Crotch by Max & Ben Askren

How Much is Ben Askren Worth?

Various internet sources cite Ben Askren's net worth at approximately $500,000.  He is said to have earned over $800,000 during his stint fighting with the UFC.

How Tall is Ben Askren?

 Ben Askren is five foot ten inches tall.

How Much Does Ben Askren Weigh?

For Ben Askren's recent boxing excursion with Jake Paul, he weighed in at 191 lbs.  During his MMA career in Bellator, One and the UFC, Ben Askren would wrestling as a welterweight. 

Ben Askren's Fight List

Ben Askren made his MMA debut early in 2009 in February.  He was able to secure a TKO victory in his first fight and secured a submission via arm triangle in his second early fight.

Ben Askren would keep his grappling chops sharp in 2009 by competing in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship.  He would win his first match via arm triangle, but lose his second match to veteran Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Pablo Popovitch.  Popovitch would go on to win the championship at the event.

Ben Askren would also compete in the Fila 2 World Grappling Championship where he would defeat 2008 World Champion Jacob Volkmann to secure the gold medal in the 84 kg division.

 Ben Askren would make his transition to the larger stages of MMA by participating in Bellator Fighting Championships Welterweight Tournament.  In the first fight of the tournament he would defeat Ryan Thomas via technical submission.  Due to another competitor pulling out, Askren would meet Ryan Thomas a second time and this time Ben would win a unanimous decision by dominating Thomas using his wrestling for three rounds.

At Bellator 22, Ben Askren would meet and defeat MMA veteran Dan Hornbuckle by unanimous decision.  This win would cement Ben as the Welterweight Tournament Champion and set him up for a fight October 21, 2010 with the current Welterweight Champion Lyman Good.

The match was definite the most challenging of his career thus far and despite taking damage and nearly finding himself caught in Good's triangle choke with only a minute left, Askren's wrestling dominance was too much for Lyman Good to overcome and Askren won the championship with a unanimous decision.

Ben Askren would face Nick Thompson next at Bellator 40.  Again, his wrestling would help him dominate the fight.  Thompson would land an excellent overhand right in the third round but it was not enough to counter the control that Ben's wrestling brought to the fight.  Ben Askren would come away with the unanimous decision.

Before his next fight, Ben Askren would spend time training under the renowned striking coach Duke Roufus.  Ben Askren would successfully defend his title in his next fight against the Season 4 Welterweight Tournament winner Jay Hieron via split decision.

In his next fight, Ben Askren successfully defending his title against Douglas Lima who had won the Season 5 welterweight tournament.

In Ben's next title defense, he would take on Karl Amoussou and again make use of his Olympic level wrestling skill to dominate the match.  While dominating on the top, Ben Askren used an elbow to open up a cut in Amoussou's forehead that would eventually lead to a doctor's stoppage.

Askren would finish out his contract with a final display of domination against Andrey Koreshkov, that season's tournament winner.  Ben would dominate with wrestling and ground strikes securing a TKO victory in the fourth round of the fight.  After a brief negotiation period, Askren's contract would not be renewed and he would become a free agent.

Ben Askren would next sign a two-year/six fight contract with One Championship.  His first fight would be against Bakhtiyar Abbasov who prior to meeting Askren in the cage had a 9 fight win streak.  Askren was able to dispatch his opponent via arm triangle choke in the first round and immediately set his sights on current One champion Nobutatsu Suzuki.

Ben Askren would get his wish to meet the champ in his next fight.  At One Fighting Championship:  Reign of Champions on August 29, 2014 he would win the title via TKO due to strikes in round one.  Ben Askren had become the new One FC welterweight champ.

Ben Askren would next face Luis Santos in the main event of Valor of Champions.  An accidental eye-poke would make it impossible for Santos to continue after round 1, so the fight was ruled a "No Contest."  Askren would return to defeat Nikolay Aleksakhin by unanimous decision at Global Warriors.

Askren's arm triangle would claim another victory against Agilan Thani in 2017 at Dynasty of Heroes.  In September of 2017 he would defeat Zebaztian Kadestam via TKO due to punches.

Ben Askren faced veteran Shinya Aoki in what would be determined to be his final fight.  Askren won the fight via TKO due to punches in the first round.  Askren would announce that he would retire from MMA after the win.

In November of 2018, a historic trade was made between the One FC and UFC promotions.  Ben Askren was brought to the UFC in exchange for UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson.

Askren's UFC debut would be no easy task against Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler.  After an initial cancellation and rescheduling, the two would meet at UFC 235.  Askren would win the fight via bulldog choke in the first round though the stoppage was highly controversial as replay would show Lawler's arm go limp and then make a thumbs up gesture, suggesting that he may have slipped into and out of consciousness.  A review by the Nevada Athletic Commission determined that Herb Dean's stoppage and Askren's victory was justified.

In Ben Askren's next fight he would face Jorge Masvidal.  After a long period of trash-talk leading up to the fight, Jorge would capitalize on Ben attempting to change levels by landing a flying knee which became the fastest knockout in UFC history.  

Askren would next face Demian Maia on October 26, 2019.  He would lose the fight via technical submission in round three.  This fight would earn him a Fight of the Night honor.  

Askren would announce his official retirement from MMA on November 18, 2019.

Ben Askren's most recent competition would be a boxing match against YouTube personality Jake Paul.  After a long back and forth battle online via social media, Askren and Paul would step into the ring, generating over a million pay per view buys.  Ben Askren would be defeated by TKO. 

Ben Askren's Best Fight of All Time

Trying to decide which of Ben Askren's many fights can be challenging.  He has utilized his Olympic caliber wrestling skills to help secure victory and dominate opponents throughout his MMA career.  

Can it be argued that his boxing match with Jake Paul is his greatest match?  Not because of the performance, but because of the overall impact this match had culturally uniting millions of Jake Paul's YouTube and Social Media followers with sports fans around the glob.

Who Did Ben Askren Lose to?

Ben Askren most recently lost a boxing match against Jake Paul.  He has also met defeat in the UFC at the hands (or knee) of Jorge Masvidal and the submission skills of ADCC champion Demian Maia.

Ben Askren's Record

Ben Askren retired from MMA with a 19-3 record.

Ben Askren's Injuries

Ben's return to the competitive scene with the Jake Paul match came after he had recovered from hip surgery.

Is Ben Askren Retired?

Ben Askren is currently retired from MMA competition, but the door remains open for competitive wrestling competition.

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