Ben Askren is leaving the door open for a possible return to MMA.
After Askren lost back-to-back fights to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia, he announced his retirement from the sport. The former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champ needed hip surgery which would keep him out of action for a year. But, after the surgery, “Funky” is feeling much better and could return to MMA.
“I would say, never say never,” Askren said to MMAFighting. “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,” he continued. “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.”
As Ben Askren says, he will be looking to do wrestling matches and if the right opportunity presents itself, perhaps we see Askren make the walk to the Octagon one more time.
