Ben Askren

Ben Askren (born July 18, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler.

During his freshman campaign (2003–2004), Askren won the Big 12 Conference Championships and placed second at the NCAA Championships, with both matches being against standout from Oklahoma State Chris Pendleton.

During his sophomore campaign (2004–2005), Askren placed second at both the NCAA and Big 12 Championships, losing both championship matches to Pendleton.

After being a runner–up for half of his career, Askren shined as a junior and a senior, becoming the third athlete to ever earn the Dan Hodge Trophy in multiple occasions, as he received the award in both seasons after compiling a combined 87–0 record.

Throughout his career, Askren defeated multiple NCAA champions such as Jake Herbert and Keith Gavin.

He also was the 2005 Pan American champion as a freestyle wrestler.

In college, Askren was a two–time NCAA Division I national champion (four–time finalist), and three–time Big 12 Conference champion (four–time finalist) for the Missouri Tigers, and was the second wrestler to secure multiple Dan Hodge Trophies (the wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) in folkstyle wrestling.

He was also a world champion in submission wrestling.

Following his wrestling career, Askren transitioned into mixed martial arts.

He was the former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion, remaining undefeated for over a decade before competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Askren was introduced to the sport of wrestling by his father Chuck at age six, but only took the sport seriously when he started the sixth grade and joined a club.

During high school, he became a two–time WIAA state champion out of Arrowhead High School in Wisconsin.

Nationally, he placed at multiple US National tournaments in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman.

In college, Askren wrestled for the Missouri Tigers at 174 pounds, where he was teammates with future UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley and future Bellator Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler.

After a legendary run, Askren graduated with a 153–8 record (seven of the losses were handled by Chris Pendleton and one of them by Ryan Lange), two Dan Hodge Trophies (2006, 2007) and Schalles Awards (2006, 2007), two NCAA championships, three Big 12 Championships and 91 pins, the third most in NCAA Division I history.

One of the most dominant collegiate wrestlers of all time, Askren's "funky" style relied heavily in unorthodox scrambling techniques and was known for his pinning ability as well as his massive afro.

His peculiar and uncommon body shape for a wrestler allowed him to complete moves that his competition could not, thus constantly putting them in awkward positions.

After working on adapting his style during 2007, Askren claimed the US National Championship in April and followed up by making the US Olympic Team in June.

An accomplished grappler, he was a 2008 US Olympic Team Member and National champion in freestyle wrestling.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Askren defeated Hungarian István Veréb via fall in the first round, but fell in the quarterfinals to Cuba's Iván Fundora on points.

Fundora was then defeated by Russia's Buvaisar Saitiev, thus eliminating Askren's chances of competing for a medal.

Askren was then asked if inexperience in the new ruleset was a factor, but he responded; "That wasn't it," he said with tears in his eyes, "I just wasn't good enough. I sucked."

Although Askren decided to pursue a career in MMA after the Olympics, he continued to compete in wrestling occasionally.

Later the same year, Askren defeated 2009 world silver medalist Jake Herbert in a folkstyle rules match at the Midlands Tournament.

Askren also competed in the Agon Wrestling Championships and the Flo Premier League.

Askren made his professional MMA debut on February 7, 2009.

It was held by Headhunter Productions at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center in Columbia, Missouri.

He defeated Josh Flowers via TKO early in the first round.

Askren had his second fight at Patriot Act 2 in Columbia, Missouri.

He defeated Mitchell Harris via submission by arm triangle.

The fight was at a catchweight of 175 pounds.

Askren competed at the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship from September 26–27, in Barcelona, Spain.

He won his first match against Toni Linden by arm triangle choke.

He lost his second match to Pablo Popovitch, a veteran grappler he had trained with the previous summer, by figure four footlock early in the match.

In 2010, he avenged his Olympic loss by defeating Fundora in the semifinals of the Cerro Pelado International in Cuba.

This came shortly after Askren won the Dave Schultz Memorial International.

On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Askren would be one of six new inductees to the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.

Despite his style relying heavily in folkstyle rules, Askren was able to adapt fairly well to freestyle wrestling after his graduation from college.

In May 2019, Askren lost by technical superiority to five–time World and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs in the annual Beat the Streets benefit event.

After spending a little over a year in retirement from his MMA career, Askren announced a successful hip surgery in 2020 and revealed that he intends to return to competitive freestyle wrestling soon.