There is no concept more prevalent in the fables passed down through history than that of Pride. It’s a feature we teach our children to hold for themselves and how they are seen by the world, but also to never let pride get in the way of learning a lesson. People are proud of their accomplishments yet pride comes before the fall; pride is the origin of all sin, but to not be proud is to be a reprobate. In modern culture, there are an infinite number of ways to view those who are uncompromising in their beliefs because they are too proud to be told that they could be wrong, but in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, there is nobody as a case study for a proud and uncompromising figure that is as fascinating as Ben Askren. A legendary Amateur Wrestler, Askren transitioned into MMA in the late 2000’s, burned bright in all the wrong ways and disappeared from sight, only to resurface in glory for the same reason - he refused to be anything less than himself. Records Broken, Dreams Shattered, Drug Testing and One Man’s Haircut set the scene - This is the story of Ben Askren.
To talk about Ben Askren, we first need to elaborate on what makes Ben Askren so special, and to do that, we need to talk about the differences between Collegiate and Freestyle Wrestling. While Freestyle and Greco-Roman are the two most prominent styles practiced at the world level, Collegiate Wrestling is unique to America, having a marked similarity to the western oriented Freestyle wrestling but most notably giving value to Positional Dominance instead of flashy and explosive takedowns. This simple difference in how the sport is scored alters the entire approach in comparison to world level Freestyle, which is littered with athletic freaks who can blast double a brick wall but struggle to control opponents. In Collegiate Wrestling, big slams are scored but they aren’t scored any differently than a takedown because much more emphasis is based around top control - there have been wrestlers who are average at the collegiate level who go on to become exceptional World level Amateurs in both Freestyle and Greco, but Collegiate Wrestling much more favors strength and positional awareness rather than pure athleticism. This is where University of Missouri’s Star Wrestler Ben Askren enters the equation - with his lanky frame and deceptive strength, Askren was an impossibly good collegiate wrestler. Competing from 2004 to 2007, Askren dominated in a way that is almost unheard of - never getting less than 2nd at the NCAA Division 1 National Tournament, Becoming the second person to win the Dan Hodge trophy, College Wrestling’s equivalent to the MVP, becoming the second person to win 2 Schalles awards, given to the best Pinner in the country, and garnering 91 pins - Ben Askren’s wrestling career in college was otherworldly. Outside of his results, Askren was known for what was described as his “Funky” Style of wrestling, emphasizing awkward positional dominance that capitalized on his long frame to get unique pins. Askren was beloved at the collegiate level for his unorthodox, high risk approach, but he also had many detractors, and there was nothing that Askren loved more than making them mad; He made them mad with his dominance, he made them mad with his style, but more than anything, he made them angry with his unmissable Afro.
Askren’s hair style is something that drew ire because of the view of collegiate sports. An inherent part of the system being based around enrollment in College programs being temporary, people who watch Football or Basketball or Wrestling come to identify less with individuals and more with a program in a way that is traditionally more dedicated than their professional counterparts. There have always been exceptional college athletes who stood out; Jesse Owens, Bo Jackson, Michael Vick, but what made them blips is that they would eventually move on and the institutions would remain, leading to a prevalent culture of downplaying the individual athletes and emphasizing the head of athletic programs or the school itself. Ben Askren’s refusal to be anything besides a stand out figure was tangible every time he took to the mat with the loudest hair known to man and pinned the best wrestlers in the country, and while it made plenty of people mad, his refusal to compromise while continuing to do things his own way that worked endeared him to more. Askren’s greatness at the Collegiate Level with his funky style of wrestling was probably questionable as he left College to compete in Freestyle, a medium he was less experienced in as a merchant of top control rather than explosive takedowns, Askren would win the US Nationals in 2008, massaging some of the doubts about him being able to transition. With the 2008 Olympics in Beijing approaching so shortly after Askren’s graduation and prior success in 2006 and 2007, Askren would qualify for Team USA at 74 kilos in Men’s Freestyle - The Funky God of Missouri would represent the United States on the world stage, and get the chance to shut up every single one of his critics.
For the individual who is uncompromising and outspoken in their belief in themselves, there is nothing that people want more than for them to fail. It’s a truly sick part of human nature - Nobody is sure of the source of it, if it truly is a malicious impulse or a simple manifestation of jealousy, but when someone shows an unshakeable belief in themselves, there is nothing that people love more than to see it Shaken. For Ben Askren, his Olympic Dreams would end in tragedy, being eliminated early by eventual Bronze Medalist Ivan Fundora, but while this loss crushed him, the most striking image of his loss is what you can’t see. Ben Askren’s hair was his most prominent feature, it was something of a trademark before action was called on the wrestling mat - it was a symbol of his defiance to convention whether or not Askren believes it himself, but Askren decided to cut his hair to wrestle in the Olympics, allegedly because foreign wrestlers can pull it during competition to create openings that are unavailable otherwise. Askren was not the favorite to bring home Gold in Beijing; he was a first time olympian fresh out of College at 24 years old going up against superheroes like Buvaysa Saytiev, 9 time Gold Medalist at the world level with 3 Olympic Medals to his name, but compromising what made him special and not making it to the podium crushed something in the young man’s heart. Askren’s mood was attempted to be lifted by the easy out - he was fresh out of College competing against world level veterans in a medium that he was not familiar with, and his loss on points could be chalked up to not being used tot he scoring system, but while he is proud and uncompromising, Ben Askren never let anybody excuse him for his shame; “I Don’t know what you want to hear from me”, askren tearfully says to the media, “I just wasn’t good enough. I Sucked”. Askren would be asked what he would do next as he was young enough and talented enough to make the next Olympic team with 4 more years of Freestyle experience, and after a pause, Askren simply walks away - the outspoken and flamboyant Missouri wrestling star left speechless; the people got what they wanted, Askren’s belief was shaken to its core.
As the Olympic dream for Askren faded with time, his attention began shifting to another medium - Grappling. Even as Askren began to drift towards Mixed Martial Arts as it rose in prominence in the united states, Askren’s interest in striking always seemed minimal, which flew int he face of where Mixed Martial Arts was going by 2009. In 1990’s, as MMA was in its formative years, grapplers dominated because they were able to drag unaware kickboxers onto the ground where their skillset was completely nullified, but as time went on and understanding grew, the amount of champions in the sport who could get by just on takedowns and submissions dwindled, and by 2009, it was almost completely unheard of. With Askren’s competitive dominance came in Collegiate Wrestling, which favored control and position over flashy throws, it seemed like he would take to arts like Jiu Jitsu like a glove, but Striking? Askren never really took to it, nor did he seem to want to - Striking was neutral, it was sanitary; controlling a fight on the feet doesn’t take the will out of an opponent like dominating them in a position they’ve never experienced before. As Askren’s MMA Career started in 2009, he also partook in elite Submission Grappling competitions, like the ADCC World Championships in Barcelona where he would only lose to eventual gold medalist Pablo Popovitch, or or the FILA World Grappling Championships, where Askren took gold by beating previous year’s champion Jacob Volkmann. Askren’s proficiency in the art of grappling as a logical progression to his Funky style of wrestling was noticeable, and it drew the attention of burgeoning MMA Promotion Bellator, who recruited Askren for their Welterweight Tournament to determine a #1 Contender for champion Lyman Good. Askren’s clear proficiency for MMA as a wrestler was obvious from the moment he stepped foot in a Bellator ring - while he was not the best freestyle wrestler in the world, there was not a soul in this company who could stop him from getting top position and doing pretty much whatever he wanted; the tournament final he had vs Dan Hornbuckle is an example of what it was that Ben Askren brought to the sport of MMA. Hornbuckle was an MMA Veteran, at 21-2 he was one of the best Welterweights on the regional scene with a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and 11 submission wins - people like this are a deathtrap for fighters like Askren so early in their careers, but as the bell rang, Askren came out and dove for a takedown, and even though it was stopped, Askren just stayed on his leg until he got him down, and once he did, it didn’t matter how Hornbuckle attacked or scrambled, Askren stayed connected and continued dogging him. Askren’s defense was well beyond his year, spotting submissions from the bottom and working to avoid them, but what made Askren’s performance so special was that he did not choose to get to position and hold it to mitigate risk; continuing his trademark Funky style from college, Askren opted for more risky plays, often losing guaranteed dominant positions, but because of his ability, Askren was confident he could just get it back, and that Hornbuckle could do nothing to stop him… This is displayed perfectly near the end of the first round - Askren is dominating all round, he has full mount and is postured up and landing shots, but Hornbuckle is able to buck his hips and shake Askren off with 33 seconds left in the round - it takes 5 seconds until Hornbuckle is once again on his back, chasing an armbar that would never come. The tenacity, the dominant position, the edge and the daring - Askren’s victory in the Bellator Welterweight Tournament staked his claim as one of the best natural talents in the division… but he would still have to face the champion, 2009’s Welterweight Tournament Winner Lyman Good, and it would be a fight that would come to define Askren’s career.
It can be argued that Bellator 33 in October 2010 was instrumental in attracting fans to the promotion. With the season format Bellator ran, their earlier events in the year had given way to new champions and challengers for the previous tournament winners from 2009. Returning in August 2010, the 3rd season of Bellator featured the first title defenses in the promotion’s history, the first of which was Joe Soto vs Joe Warren at Bellator 27 - a featherweight championship match that ended with a dramatic comeback knockout in round 2 for Joe Warren that spread around the MMA Community like wildfire. After the clip caught attention, people began to wonder about the promotion it took place in, Bellator - Bellator 33 took place 6 weeks after Warren Soto happened, and was probably the first event many people who had seen the clip watched in order to get a handle on what Bellator was about, but the main event also attracted an audience because of its participants - Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez would fight former UFC contender Roger Huerta in a non title fight. In what promised to be a barn burner with a more recognizable name, Bellator supplemented this fight with the second title fight of Season 3, Lyman Good vs Ben Askren for the Welterweight Championship. With new eyes on the promotion and the direct comparisons between Askren and Warren as elite wrestlers who transitioned to MMA, an entirely new audience was set to see Ben Askren… and people were split. On the night, Askren and Good had a more competitive bout than Askren and Hornbuckle, but across 5 rounds, save for a late triangle attempt by Good, the fight was dominated by Askren’s wrestling. The pace of the fight seemed to follow a script that could not be broken no matter what either of them did - Askren would shoot a takedown, get it with varying degrees of struggle, pass guard, land some shots, go for a submission, Good would escape and then they would repeat. There are some that viewed this style of aggressively regaining top control as interesting, but a whole lot of other people said that it was boring, labelling Askren as a boring point fighter on arrival. Askren didn’t care, of course he didn’t, he dominated the best opponent of his career and seemed to enjoy that his method of victory bothered so many people, classic Ben Askren, but with the new audience of fans being introduced to Bellator and Askren’s name being at the forefront of what can be argued was its best division, the title of “Boring” was almost impossible for him to shake - and the backlash to boring wrestlers was only beginning in the sport of MMA.
The truth is that what is called boring in MMA is almost entirely predicated on whether or not people like you; like anything in life, there is no universal truths when it comes to enjoyment, and what is boring for one may not be boring for another. In the case of Ben Askren, a finish averse top control wizard, his obvious contemporary was UFC Champion Georges St-Pierre, and while GSP received some criticism for his heavy top control and streak of decision victories, he was also lauded as MMA’s most complete fighter and one of its biggest stars - he was more than appreciated in his time, and a lot of that comes down to the simple fact that GSP was a likeable figure and Ben Askren almost courted vitriol because it made him happy to upset people. GSP Wore a suit and apologized when he wasn’t able to get a finish, Ben Askren smiled and said that his opponents should be better if fans don’t like him wrestling for 5 rounds; GSP was pretty and marketable, Askren was a sneering and cocky brat who talked all the trash in the world, and went out there and dominated his opponents from first bell to last bell, never coming close to losing but also seemingly abandoning his interest in attacking submissions; Askren’s joy in running up his undefeated record without a finish was palpable, and it appealed to a very niche set of fans, but it also cast him as the opposite of what MMA Fans wanted - save for Georges St-Pierre, top control dominant fighters who didn’t get finishes were quickly relegated to being the most hated archetype in the sport. Dong Hyun Kim, Jon Fitch, Yushin Okami, Jacob Volkmann, all fighters thrown into the ether in the name of wanting fighting to be exciting that they seemed to fly in the face of, and after beating Lyman Good and going the next 2 years undefeated and without a finish, Ben Askren was thrilled to join that group, as long as it made people upset. Why would Askren care if people hated him for not getting a finish? He was winning, and if the best competitor is the one who wins hte most, then Askren was at the top of the world… The only thing that could stop his upward trajectory was if there was a way to get the entire relevant world of MMA to not touch him, but since he was one of Bellator’s top champions, not only was Bellator interested in him, but it stands to reason hat the UFC would be interested… right?
Askren’s 2013 is one of those things that only begins to make sense when years have passed and context could be applied. Professionally, it was one of the best years of Askren’s career - Bellator’s profile had exploded with their new broadcast deal on Spike TV, and Askren’s two title defenses, vs Karl Amoussou and Andrey Koreshkov, both being absolute throttling that actually ended in finishes, it seemed like Askren’s improvements were finally starting to bear fruit, but by the end of the year, Askren would be out of the company entirely with no chance of being signed by the UFC. To understand how a fighter’s best year could end with exile, we have to go back to 2012 - as the UFC’s popularity grew with network television deals and continued exposure in the mainstream, the question they were repeatedly asked revolved around Drug Testing, as they were the only major sports promotion in the united states without any kind of uniform drug testing policy, opting to leave that work to the local athletic commissions. In response to this line of questioning, UFC President Dana White answered with a logistical complaint - their promotion employed hundreds of fighters across the world and they did not have access tot he resources to test all of them. It’s an easy way to dodge a question that is a pretty serious indictment on the UFC as a leader in sports, but being the outspoken individual he is with a background in Olympic Wrestling, Ben Askren was one of the most prominent voices who called bullshit - the Olympics tests all athletes from all around the world with far more strict testing procedures than the UFC does, so saying it is impossible to test all UFC fighters was a bold faced lie. In response, Dana White lashed out at Askren, choosing to just call him a boring fighter and saying he’d rather watch flies fuck - a charming little exchange, but after that, White’s attitude towards Askren was decidedly hostile, answering questions about him signing with the company by saying that he isn’t good and wasn’t ready for the big show; it’s probably this derision that drove Askren’s 2013 title defenses to be so dominant, just dominating good opponents out of sheer spite, but Askren’s stance as someone who advocated for heightened drug testing would be solidified as more than just talk - just a few months after saying the UFC’s resistance to random drug testing was a joke, Askren joined with the Voluntary Anti Doping Association to be randomly tested throughout the year. Going into 2013, Askren was essentially the poster boy for stricter drug testing advocacy, and his principles wouldn’t stop at his bottom line as he also held his own employer to task. An article was penned in early 2013 that speculated why Bellator seemingly had fewer issues with fighters failing drug tests than the UFC - a reactionary observation made in light of 2012 seeing prominent title challengers Nick Diaz and Alistair Overeem fail tests. The conclusion that the writer drew was that failing a drug test while essentially auditioning for a spot in the UFC could brand you as an undesirable, which fighters are much less likely to take - Askren’s issue with this was pretty simple; you can’t fail a test you don’t take, saying that Bellator, the company that he was the champion of, had only tested him once in 3 years. Askren would follow up by saying that he didn’t care because cheaters would always find a way to cheat, but Bellator’s most prominent champion saying that they don’t drug test was an emphatic blow to Bellator’s Public RElations that were already under assault for their handling of other fighters. People quickly put together that Bellator commonly held fights on Native American reservations, where there are much more lax rules surrounding regulation of the sport, and postulated that Bellator held events there to avoid more stringent drug testing from more prominent state athletic commissions, people cited Hector Lombard’s dramatic dropoff in skill once he went tot he UFC, accusations were flying at any Bellator champion who was deemed to be too dominant, it was an absolute nightmare that Askren unleashed with his advocacy. As 2013 came to a close, Askren’s contract was expiring with Bellator, and while it seems like a no brainer for Askren to be re-signed, it was a shock to everybody that Bellator was granting Askren unconditional release, vacating their Welterweight championship without anyone ever beating him. At the time, it was seen as a response to the overwhelming negative press surrounding Eddie Alvarez’s contract situation, which saw Alvarez sitting out for much of 2013 demanding a release from Bellator to go fight for hte UFC, and if Askren had wanted to leave Bellator, holding him would just be another bad look for a company who relies on good public image to continue existing. When Askren was not signed by the UFC, it was viewed as American MMA Companies seemingly uniting on casting out the boring fighters to incentivize entertainment - Jon Fitch and Yushin Okami had been released by the UFC following 1 loss and still being ranked in the top 5 of their respective divisions, a borderline unprecedented decision witht he UFC seeking to hold all of the sport’s top fighters, and with Bellator releasing Askren and UFC not picking him up, the directive seemed abundantly clear - if you want a job, you fight to not only win, but entertain… In hindsight though, something more sinister appears to be at the core of this.
It’s easy to look back and say that Askren and the UFC didn’t come to terms because of Askren’s little spat with the UFC president, a famously petty man who knows he holds all the cards in the sport, but across 2013, it becomes clear and obvious that, across MMA, there was much less tolerance for people who addressed the elephant in the room regarding the sport’s drug testing. Ben Askren’s advocacy for heightened testing was projected loud and proud, but across the entire sport, fighters who pointed out the lack of drug testing seemed to be met with contempt. Jon Fitch, one of the UFC’s most tenured top welterweights, was fairly outspoken in his objection to the rise of Testosterone Replacement Therapy, a procedure that synthetically raises testosterone levels to counteract low testosterone that was being abused by fighters in 2012 and 2013. Georges St-Pierre, the UFC’s biggest star, drew massive praise when he joined VADA prior to his fight with Johny Hendricks, saying that he wanted drug testing in the sport to improve, and he would lead by example. GSP famously retired after the bout with Hendricks, prompting Dana White to take a much more aggressive stance on the champion that had been such a massive star for years and who had always played the company man, and when the UFC doesn’t sign Askren, someone who has directly called out the UFC for their lack of testing, it becomes clear that there wasn’t ever a banning of boring fighters, but a banning of vocal ones. Drug testing in the UFC became a bigger and bigger question, as Testosterone Replacement Therapy became a defining black spot on the promotion amidst their building popularity, the last thing the company needed was a fighter who fans didn’t love, who fighters couldn’t beat and who was more than willing to expose the company who pays his checks for their lax drug testing - So they let Askren, potentially the best fighter outside the UFC, to pass them by, and unlike the modern sport, which sees heightened criticism of the UFC and its president when they openly undermine the mission statement to house the best fighters in the world, people were more than happy to see that loudmouth Ben Askren without a job in a big company - they hated Askren more than they wanted to see the best fight the best, and with Askren no longer a champion of a major company, it’s almost like his voice just didn’t matter as much.
The rest of Askren’s career is simply a formality - he signed with upstart Singapore MMA promotion One FC, he won their welterweight championship and went undefeated in the organization while his prime years and health dwindled away in the dark with nobody to see him. In 2018, he softly retired, citing hip injuries and a lack of challenge, only for him to be pulled from retirement in 2019 when the UFC suddenly acquired his contract in a trade for Demetrious Johnson, one of the UFC’s greatest of all time. His UFC career is an anomaly - he comes off the bench, fights former champion Robbie Lawler, gets thrown on his head and seemingly knocked out cold, only for him to endure, get Lawler down and apply a headlock and getting the fight stopped because the referee believed Lawler was unconscious, but this controversy faded pretty quickly because there was no real way to say it - Ben Askren was pretty beloved.. Over the years, a new fanbase had entered the UFC and had only heard about Ben Askren talked about on Joe Rogan podcasts as the best fighter who hadn’t signed with the UFC; when Askren joined the company and had a dramatic fight with LAwler, the video was spread on twitter and canonized Askren in the light of someone who was unbreakable, but was simultaneously vulnerable. For his part, Askren had always enjoyed having a platform - he was the same guy he was in Bellator when he had a microphone in his face, he was charismatic, outspoken, fun to listen to; an entirely new audience had found Askren without any previous baggage and found him a delight. He would be matched up with Jorge Masvidal, a career journeyman who had been beginning to gain a bit of prominence after over a decade of unfulfilled potential, only for him to finally reach that potential by recording the fastest knockout in UFC history over Ben Askren, propelling him to superstar status overnight. Following a sad performance against legendary grappler Demian Maia where he once again lost, Askren retired again because of his continuing hip issues, having an entire UFC Career across 2019 where he entered, endeared himself to people, became the victim of the fastest knockout ever and then left - you can see how this just feels like a weird conclusion to his story. It’s a strange tag at the end of a career that was defined by a refusal to allow himself to be confined by anybody - In college, people wanted him to fall in line, so Askren grew out his hair and leaned into his mould-breaking style. People told him that he would never make the olympics unless he adapted to Freestyle, so Askren just stuck to his guns and made the Olympics anyways. Fighters wanted him to shut up and fight, Askren ran his mouth. Fans wanted him to learn to strike or finish a fight, Askren just wrestled more. Companies wanted him to shut up about drug testing, Askren volunteered for heightened drug testing and told anyone who would listen that the biggest companies in the world weren’t doing good enough. Ben Askren’s refusal to compromise is one of the reasons Askren seems to have no regrets about how his career went - he did things his own way, and if people didn’t want him for that, he wasn’t going to change… because the one time he did, that Summer night in Beijing, his Olympic Dreams ended in tragedy. Ben Askren’s career is not defined by his wrestling, it’s not defined by his relationship with the UFC, his win streak or his losses - instead, all of that is defined by Ben Askren’s refusal to march to any beat but his own; the beat that saw a young man in missouri grow his hair and break records on the mat by competing in his own, Funky way.
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