Ben Askren’s coach, Duke Roufus, believes his fighter would have been a UFC champ had he of joined the promotion earlier in his career.
Askren (19-2, 1NC) recently announced his retirement from MMA after two consecutive losses in the UFC. “Funky” said a big reason he was retiring was because he has to undergo a hip replacement surgery.
After going undefeated and winning titles in both Bellator and ONE Championship, Askren controversially won his UFC debut against Robbie Lawler in March of this year. He then suffered a five-second KO loss to Jorge Masvidal, and most recently a submission loss to Demian Maia.