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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Ben Askren says his body simply ran out of gas in the final wrestling match of his decorated career.
Just over a year after surviving a life-threatening bout of pneumonia that resulted in a double lung transplant, the former UFC welterweight contender returned to the mat at RAF 11 in Milwaukee, where he dropped a 6-3 decision to ex-UFC champion Belal Muhammad.
Ben Askren explains final wrestling loss to Belal Muhammad
Askren had a dream start after taking a lead through the opening two periods. However, Muhammad rallied in the third, scoring a takedown and reversal before pulling away late. Reflecting on the match, Askren told FloWrestling that his body could not keep up.
"The match was going relatively well," he recalled. "At the end of the second period, when I walked over to my corner, I'm like, ‘sh*t! My legs have nothing left.' I'm gonna have a hard time being in my stance. I'm gonna have a hard time not getting pushed around."
Muhammad then raised the pace of the match, which further caused problems for Askren.
"He came out really hard, and I was like, ‘sh*t! My body doesn't have it left in me.' I did the best I could," he added. "I knew my legs don't have any more."
This defeat marked the end of Askren's competitive wrestling career. He confirmed this to Chael Sonnen in the post-match interview after his match.
"For sure, it's my last time on the mat," he said. "I couldn't find a better place to do this. I worked hard over the last year. It was tough. There were times I couldn't feed myself; I couldn't stand up or go to the bathroom."
