Ben Askren has officially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition.
Askren ends his career on a two-fight losing streak under the UFC banner. The first being a record-breaking knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal at five seconds, followed by a submission loss to Demian Maia in Singapore. Now, speaking to TMZ Sports, Askren has discussed what’s next for him in his career. When asked about possibly trying out commentary, Askren was optimistic.
“I think there’s a chance,” Askren said. “I think I’m going to give it a try. I’ve got a lot of people encouraging me to give it a try. I’m gonna try – I’m still not sure if I’m going to like it or not. I’m up for debate on that one.”
Askren was then asked if he plans on fighting again some time down the line. One of the main reasons for his retirement is his need for a major hip surgery that will limit what he’s able to do physically.
However, after speaking to several college coaches who have had the same surgery, Askren is hopeful he might one day be able to continue his athletic aspirations unrestricted. As for fighting, Askren is unsure if he ever wants to compete again.
“I don’t foresee anything like that happening,” Askren said. “To clarify the procedure – because I did say yesterday, I think I called it Burningham Hip, I’ve been told you’re probably not supposed to do anything after that. But I did just get a few colleges – because some of the college wrestling coaches did it, reached out to me and said they’ve had the procedure and they had it with one of the doctors I’m looking at doing it with. They said it was over a year rehab but they said they’re both with no restrictions.
“Meaning they could go and do whatever the hell they want. They could go in and wrestle with their teams – that was really, that was really something I was having a hard time with, because everyone was making it sound like I would be very restricted. I don’t know if I ever want to compete again, in any way, shape or form, but I always envisioned myself as an older – running the wrestling academies, I’d work out with the guys, or do whatever it is that I wanted to do.
“So the thought of having restrictions on what I wanted to do, that was pretty hard. So I always hoped there was a way to avoid that. So having these guys reach out to me and say, ‘Yeah dude, we had the same procedure. It took us a year to get back but we’re no restrictions now,’ that was really positive to hear that.”
What do you think about Askren possibly taking a commentary position after retiring from MMA?
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