If you were aliving on the planet earth during the early 90’s its virtually impossible for you to not be familiar with the name Deion Sanders. Sanders was and still is one of the most talented dynamic athletes of our time. Sanders was a multi sport athlete in college playing football, basebal and running track. Professionally he is one of the few people to play more than one sport at a time. He played both baseball and football professionally for many years. He remains the only athlete to have played in both the World Series and the Super Bowl. So Deion didn’t just play these sports, he all out wrecked shop in these sports. Apparently, Ben Askren thinks he is kind of like the MMA version of Neon Deion Sanders.
In the days leading up to Askren’s next fight, versus Douglas Lima for the Bellator Welterweight championship title, he he talked to USATODAY about his own multi sport athletic abilities. Askren is a professional level wrestler, mma fighter and this summer he plans on adding professional disc golf player to his sporting resume.
You’re still doing disc golf, correct?
That is correct. Actually, I’m sponsored by Discraft, who is a disc golf producer, and I got to stop by their factory today and pick up some brand-new discs, so it was a really good day.
When are the amateur world championships this year? It’s in July, but I’m actually going to go pro in the next tournament, so I will no longer be competing in the amateur worlds.
So you’ll be a pro in two sports. And wrestling also. (laughs). So three. I’m like being Neon Deion back in the ’90s.
What sort of aspirations do you realistically have as a professional disc golfer? I don’t really have any high aspirations, unless somehow, some way, I make enough money in MMA that I don’t have to do anything for the rest of my life and I can focus on being a great disc golfer.
It sounds like you’re saying you’ll be content as long as you’re competitive in disc golf. Yeah. I mean, it’s hard being great at something unless you can dedicate a lot of your time to it. Between training twice a day for mixed martial arts and helping out the wrestling academy and getting my wrestling camps going — I, unfortunately, don’t have enough time to put the time necessary to be an extremely good disc golfer.
I could see Askren as a disc golfer. There’s a disc golf course near my house and everyone that hangs out over there has hair like Ben and smells like they bathed in patchouli and moth balls. The rest of them don’t appear to be quite as athletic as Ben though. He’s probably the only disc golf player that can pick up a man and toss him to the canvas just as easily as he can toss a frisbee into a target. You can watch him do at least one of the sports he is a pro at this Friday night at Bellator 64 when he defends his welterweight title against a dangerous Douglas Lima. [source]
