Ben Askren walked a good walk and talked a better talk.
Askren was a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Missouri, where he won two national championship and was twice named the Dan Hodge Trophy winner. After representing the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he made a seamless transition to mixed martial arts. Askren rattled off 14 consecutive victories to start his career, capturing titles in the Bellator MMA and One Championship organizations along the way. He retired with a 19-2 record on Nov. 18, 2019 following consecutive crash-and-burn losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.