Less than a month after announcing he was contemplating retirement, Ben Askren has officially stepped away from MMA. During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday afternoon, Askren revealed he recently found out he needs to have hip replacement surgery.
“I’m retiring from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, and frankly I’m retiring from everything,” Askren said. “I had been having hip problems and I finally had the discussion with my doctor. I actually had the MRI before my last fight, and I need a hip replacement. So, that’s it for me. I’ve been thinking about this for a week and kind of what I was going to say. I’m filled with gratitude for how great of a career I’ve been able to have, even though obviously in the end it did not turn out to go my way.”
"I'm retired from the sport of mixed martial arts and frankly, I'm retired from everything."@Benaskren cites needing a hip replacement as a factor in his retirement (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/OZLG2ZDTBj
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 18, 2019
Askren joined the UFC in a blockbuster trade that sent Demetrious Johnson to ONE Championship after winning 18 consecutive bouts. He earned a controversial victory in his UFC debut, submitting Robbie Lawler in what many claimed was an early stoppage.
Since then, it’s been all downhill for Askren, who was knocked out mere seconds into his fight with Jorge Masvidal, earning himself a place in the record books with the quickest knockout in the organization’s history. Askren followed that up with a third-round submission to Maia and the official end of his fighting career at 35 years old and 19-2 overall.
