Ben Askren Is Open To The Idea Of Fighting Again
Former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champion Ben Askren has revealed he is open to the idea of fighting again and explained exactly what it would take to get him back in the cage.
Speaking on the latest episode of his Rokfin podcast Askren explained while he will never return to fighting full-time he “probably would” take a one-off fight provided he was paid correctly, he said.
“So here’s the deal: I would never make like full-fledge, ‘Hey, I’m gonna go fight, I’m gonna chase the title’.But I love combat. I enjoy wrestling. I enjoy fighting. So yeah, if someone said, ‘Here’s some money, go fight one time. Here’s the right opponent, let’s have some fun.’ I probably would, you know?”
Right now, Askren is intent to keep his weight down but insists a potential return to the UFC is at least one year away due to the lingering hip issue which prompted his retirement last year.
“I feel like I’m gonna have to do something to make sure I don’t get too heavy,” Askren said. “So I’m gonna have to compete in some way, shape, or form, might as well get paid for it. So I don’t see why not. And obviously, I’ve told you the UFC has expressed interest in giving me another fight but dude, my hip is so bad. So yeah, in a year or so.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)
Askren finally made it to the UFC in 2019. He made a successful debut when he choked out former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 235. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from that point for ‘Funky’ who suffered back-to-back losses before walking away from the sport. Jorge Masvidal scored the fastest KO in UFC history when he fought Askren at UFC 239. Demian Maia picked up a third-round submission win against the 36-year-old in Singapore just a few months later.
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