Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren has one big regret when it comes to his MMA career.
Askren found great success in his career. Many argue that by the time he entered the UFC, he was past his prime. While he ended up going 1-2 under the UFC banner, his career accomplishments are nothing to sneeze at. “Funky” is a former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight title holder.
Ben Askren Reveals One Regret About MMA Career
Askren responded to a fan question on Twitter and discussed what’s one regret he has regarding his pro MMA career (via MMAJunkie).
“I never really had a great jiu-jitsu coach until really the end of my career when I found Marc Laimon. I really enjoyed him. But before that, there was really a mix of different jiu-jitsu coaches at (Roufusport), and I think that my potential to choke people out went untapped,” Askren said in response to a fan question on Twitter. “I was the best pinner in modern era of college wrestling, and I think if I would have went to work with, say, the Danaher Death Squad or Marcelo Garcia, I could have really tapped into that at a much higher level. But then at the same time, I really liked being coached by Duke (Roufus), that was going well, and I always thought, ‘Hey, I’m good enough on the ground. I need to work on the striking end of the takedowns.’ I always thought, ‘Hey, I’m going to be done in a couple of years.’ And then it just ended up so happening that I fought until effing 2019.”
In the final pro MMA bout of his career, Askren was submitted by Demian Maia. It’s well-known that Maia is a submission ace. Both men kept the fight standing for a while but most fight fans were looking forward to the classic wrestler vs. jiu-jitsu specialist matchup to play out. It eventually did and Maia choked out “Funky.”
