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.

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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.”


IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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