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Ben Askren is considering retirement following his second consecutive loss. The former champion came into the Ultimate Fighting Championship with high praise and an undefeated record, but recently suffered his second consecutive loss in which he went unconscious.
Askren was choked unconscious by Demian Maia at UFC on ESPN+ 20 over the weekend and recently admitted he is mulling his retirement from mixed martial arts.
“Retirement is definitely something I am considering,” Askren said during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani MMA Show. “I would be lying to you if I said I was not. It’s just a time-cost analysis. I have a lot of things to do in my life. I’m a really busy guy. I have a lot of things I’m passionate about, and I love. Not training specifically, but to and from setting stuff up, I’m probably spending about 30 hours a week on MMA related stuff. ‘Can I place my time better somewhere else’ is definitely a thought process that’s crossed my mind.
“That being said, two more things: All I ever wanted was an opportunity. That’s all I ever wanted. I got my opportunity, so it would be hard to be bitter or disgruntled in any way because I had the opportunity I wanted. I wasn’t able to execute on that opportunity, and that’s on me. That is kind of one thought process. Then the other thought process is part of me wants to fight more. I thought I was doing really well in the Demian Maia fight.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fkDMBPrMGw
Prior to joining the UFC, Askren was considered one of the best welterweights on the planet. He held a record of 18-0 and was a former Bellator and two-division ONE champion. In his UFC debut, Askren kept his perfect record intact but it was a controversial victory over Robbie Lawler.
Since then, Askren was on the wrong end of a five-second knockout to Jorge Masvidal and most recently his submission loss to Maia.
