On Monday’s episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN Ben Askren announced that he is retiring, “from the sport of MMA” (per ESPN). Askren, who joined the UFC in 2018, turned 35 in July.
Since coming over to the UFC in what has been called a ‘trade’ with ONE Championship for Demetrious Johnson, Askren fought three times for ZUFFA. His debut came against Robbie Lawler at UFC 235 on March 2nd, 2019. Askren won that bout via a controversial technical submission.
After taking a win over the former UFC welterweight champion Askren lost, via highlight reel knockout, to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239 on July 6th, 2019.