UFC fighter Ben Askren, 35, announced his retirement Monday while on the ESPN podcast “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.”
“I’m retiring from the sport of mixed martial arts, and frankly, I’m retiring from everything,” Askren told Helwani. “I’ve been having hip problems and I finally had the discussion with my doctor. I actually got the MRI before my last fight and I need a hip replacement. So, man, that’s it for me.”
Askren is a two-time NCAA champion at the University of Missouri and competed at the 2008 Olympics.
He held the welterweight championship for the Bellator fighting league for several years before joining ONE Championship, where he held the welterweight title from 2014 to 2017.
Askren retired in 2017, but came out of retirement for a chance to fight in the UFC. He joined the UFC a little more than a year ago as a high-profile signing in a trade with the ONE Championship fighting league in exchange for fighter Demetrious Johnson.
In his UFC debut, Askren defeated Robbie Lawler. However, his last two fights were losses, with Askren defeated by Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia in consecutive fights.
Askren retires with a record of 19 wins, two losses and one no contest.