Ben Askren is 100% at peace with his decision to retire from mixed martial arts and is not looking back.
Following his loss to Demian Maia at UFC Singapore, Ben Askren made the decision to retire from mixed martial arts for the second time in his career. His run in the UFC generated results that fell beneath his own expectations, with Askren turning in a 1-2 record, but Askren will be leaving the UFC and his MMA career behind without any lingering unanswered questions (Via MMA Fighting):
“I’m not playing the what-if game any time. I hate the what if game,” Askren said. “You sound like a dick whenever you play that. I was a champion for two major organizations. I beat a lot of really good guys. That’s probably where I would leave it.”
Ben Askren would accredit his decision to retirement primarily to a hip surgery that he is planning on having, but even without the surgery, retirement was what he was leaning towards after his loss to Maia.
“I think I was headed that direction,” Askren said about retiring after the Maia fight regardless of the hip surgery. “I had already retired once and then I had the plan with my doctor to do the scope after the fight. Then he said you need the hip resurfacing and that was kind of like I don’t want to keep training like I am because it’s not that fun. It kind of sucked.”
Ben Askren will be able to resume full training without restrictions following the hip surgery, but that does not change his long-term plans of no longer competing.
“For me, it just means I get to do whatever the hell I want. I feel like my competitive doors are closed,” Askren said. “I said I was retired. I said I’m done. I don’t feel like that’s a chapter in my life that will reopen.
“I don’t want to say give me 15 months while I do my hip surgery and I’ll come back. There’s a better option to get on with my life.”
Do you believe Ben Askren is retiring at the right time?
