The UFC run of Ben Askren was not a great one to say the least, before he decided to retire. Yet after a surprisingly successful hip surgery, he is not completely ruling out the idea of a return.
Although Askren emerged into the UFC with high expectations, things soured very quickly for the then undefeated fighter. He would go 1-2 in the promotion, with his losses being far more memorable than his sole controversial win. Following his second straight defeat, the former Olympic wrestler announced that he would be hanging up the gloves, in need of a hip replacement.
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Ben Askren Not Ruling Out A Comeback
As it turns out, things were not as bad as Ben Askren originally thought, with his hip. He explained in a recent interview that he did not need to get a full hip replacement, and that once he got the procedure he immediately felt no more pain in his hip or back. With that in mind, he is going to get back into wrestling to stay busy, and is not entirely ruling out the idea of a return to the UFC.
“I would say, never say never,” Askren stated when asked if he would fight again. “I think it’s unlikely, but I’m gonna wrestle next year. Not WWE wrestle, but real wrestle. I need a reason to train and stay in shape. I love eating ice cream and everything else. I haven’t got on a scale in a year. I haven’t gotten on a scale since I fought Demian Maia over a year ago.
“If I don’t have a good reason to get on the scale, I’m not getting on the scale and I know that ain’t great for my health. I’m not super obese, but I’m definitely not in great shape right now and I can’t really train. I can ride a bike right now, that’s about all I can do with my hip but give me a few more months and I’ll be able to start getting on the mat. I’ll be able to start lightly doing some stuff.
“I’m definitely going to try and get some wrestling matches next year just so I can have a reason to stay in shape and I’m at the wrestling academy five days a week anyways so it won’t change that much.”
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Would you want to see Ben Askren compete again? Or would you rather him just stick to wrestling?
