Welcome to the world of Ben Askren, a renowned American mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler. Known for his exceptional grappling skills and unyielding determination inside the cage, Askren has left an indelible mark on the world of combat sports. With a career spanning various championships and accolades, he has become a source of inspiration for aspiring fighters and fans alike.
From his early days as a decorated collegiate wrestler to his ventures in professional MMA, Ben Askren’s journey is one of perseverance and triumph. His unique fighting style, characterized by relentless takedowns and ground control, has earned him a legion of followers and a reputation as one of the most formidable competitors in the sport. Beyond his athletic prowess, Askren is also recognized for his candid demeanor and insightful perspectives on the intricacies of combat sports.
Below, you’ll find a collection of Ben Askren quotes that encapsulate his mindset, experiences, and philosophy on fighting. Whether you’re seeking motivation, wisdom, or simply a glimpse into the mind of a true warrior, these quotes offer a glimpse into the mindset of a champion. So, feel free to explore, reflect, and perhaps even find inspiration to fuel your own endeavors in life and sport.
My main motivation is to prove I’m No. 1 in the world. Ben Askren
Dana White’s a scumbag. I don’t take anything he says with any value. Ben Askren
Having the letters UFC behind my name is not the be-all, end-all it is for someone. Some people think once they get into the UFC, that’s it. Ben Askren
I’ve been around the block. I travel a lot to gyms. Ben Askren
I don’t care if you’re an Asian fan or an American fan: I’m happy to perform. Ben Askren
I’ll sell a million pay-per-views if you’re smart enough to market me the right way. Ben Askren
Squash – definitely a rich’s person sport, and it’s only played in a handful of countries. Ben Askren
When someone decides to come into the UFC, and they don’t have a combat sports background, you’re kind of thinking, ‘Does he really understand what he’s getting into?’ Ben Askren
When I came through the ranks in wrestling – in high school and college – those systems have been in place for 100 years, and they’re fairly standard training across the board for all the colleges. Ben Askren
If I want a kid to be good at a front headlock – which, if you’re gonna wrestle at a high level, you need a good front headlock – I’m gonna put him in there 50 times in that practice. Ben Askren
Listen folks, if you want your son to grow up to be a man, don’t have him run around on a field kicking a ball; get him wrestling. Ben Askren
When I say something, I generally stick to it, no matter what it is in life. Ben Askren
I’m not willing to compromise my goals for monetary value. Ben Askren
In MMA, all of these coaches are doing their best. Ben Askren
It’s just funny because I think a long time back I was not a fan favorite at all, and now people have followed my journey, have seen the struggle and the perseverance I’ve had, and they can relate to that. Ben Askren
You know what, the thing about Bellator was, I beat everyone they had. Ben Askren
As long as I’m speaking the truth, I’m going to be OK with what I’m saying. That’s kind of how I’ve lived my whole life. Ben Askren
If you can’t play the good guy, sometimes you’ve got to play the villain. Ben Askren
I think Georges St-Pierre should go down to fight Tyron Woodley. I think he has a chance. Ben Askren
I fight with good strikers every day. Ben Askren
A male athlete’s peak, I believe, should be somewhere between 26 and 30. Ben Askren
I think people realize that I’m one of the best welterweights, whether I’m number one or number four or number five or number six. Ben Askren
I just like taunting people. Ben Askren
The worst 24- to 36-hour period of my whole camp, the part I like the least, is the part where I’ve gotta cut 13 to 15 pounds of water weight. Ben Askren
One of my favorite topics to read about my whole life has just been famous athletes, and a lot of those have been combat athletes. Ben Askren
I want to go and fight the best guys in the world and show people I’m the best. And hey, if something doesn’t go my way – I don’t think that’s gonna happen. I realize that’s a possibility in competition, and that’s what happens. Ben Askren
Some people who come from high levels in other backgrounds where they’re used to being the best or used to being on a kind of pedestal, it’s hard to kind of lower yourself again and just be one of the grunts. I kind of enjoyed that challenge in MMA. Ben Askren
I don’t really want to be famous. Ben Askren
I’m not hugely monetarily motivated. Ben Askren
Young guys kind of have this chip on their shoulder of, ‘I want to prove something,’ right? ‘I’ve got to prove how tough I am. I’ve got to prove how good I am.’ And man, now as I’m getting older, I think it’s almost sad when guys my age and older still have that chip on their shoulder. Ben Askren
I wouldn’t fight Tyron Woodley; we go way, way back. Ben Askren
Colby Covington is an idiot. He is so stupid. Ben Askren
There’s more to life than fighting. Ben Askren
Obviously, in a sport like golf, we see Tiger Woods fall off. There’s not really too much damage he can take from that, although when you watch him and he sucks, and you’re like, ‘God, you used to be so good but you suck now,’ it’s disconcerting as a fan. Ben Askren
Dana White ain’t going to take care of you the second after you can’t make him a whole bunch of money. Ben Askren
Some people, they don’t get a few takedowns, they start getting nervous, and they fade. That’s just not in my character. Ben Askren
If your coach ain’t got your back, who’s got your back? Ben Askren
You need to take care of yourself first, and you can’t think of others quite as much if you want to be a successful competitor. Ben Askren
I’m open to any welterweight on Planet Earth. Ben Askren
Obviously, everyone knows it is hard to hang it up, but I’m definitely going to try and do it the right way and not like how combat athletes have done and hold on too long for every last fleeting moment. I don’t want to be one of those people. Ben Askren
I speak plainly, I don’t beat around the bush, and I’m just genuine. Ben Askren
A lot of wrestling interviews are boring, plain and simple. They don’t say anything you never heard before. Your basic wrestling interview is, you ask me how am I going to do, and I say, ‘I’m going to do my best. I’m going to wrestle hard.’ Ben Askren
If I’m coaching at my academy, and we were drilling the front headlock, we don’t just say, ‘OK, now go five-minute goes,’ because how many tries are they gonna get at going at the front headlock position? Ben Askren
In college wrestling, you see a lot of talented athletes come in and fail because Division I class wrestling is the pinnacle of wrestling in America. Ben Askren
I don’t hold grudges. Ben Askren
If my team and family are happy for me, I’m not going to let what some fans think affect me in any way. Ben Askren
My two things I always said is, No. 1, I’d be retired by the time I had my first kid, and No. 2, I’d be retired by the time I was 30. Ben Askren
I’m going to win a gold medal. Ben Askren
I love running my business, and I love wrestling. I love helping kids. Ben Askren
I’m open to a super fight. Ben Askren
I trained with Jorge Masvidal when I’ve been training MMA for 2-1/2 months in Coconut Creek, Fla., in, like, December 2008. I was beating him up then! Ben Askren
I’m not really a soccer fan. I understand they have skill and all that running up and down the pitch and what not. Ben Askren
If you think about who retires during their prime, the number of athletes who do that is very small. Ben Askren
Wrestling is a worldwide sport. It’s totally international. Ben Askren
If you’re competing right, if you’re doing it right, competition should be a very selfish pursuit. Ben Askren
I don’t like Jay Hieron very much. He just bothers me, the way he talks, and he thinks very highly of himself. Ben Askren
I don’t try to hide my feelings or what I think. Ben Askren
I’m just a straightforward kind of dude. Ben Askren
One of my best qualities is my persistence. Ben Askren
I’m dominant positionally, and my hands got power. Ben Askren
I don’t think I could ever make 155. I made 163 for the Olympics, and that is a super low weight for me. I’m a fairly big person, and for me to make 163 was incredibly difficult. Ben Askren
I wasn’t granted the opportunity to fight some of the best guys in the world. And that was something that was not on my end by any sense of the imagination. Ben Askren
There’s no honor in faking an injury. There is no integrity, because you are lying about it. Ben Askren
I’ve never feared anyone or worried what they said as long as what I’m telling is the truth, and I’m not telling lies about people. Ben Askren
Nate Diaz sucks. Ben Askren
I don’t give a damn about my record. Ben Askren
I have a really hard time with people telling me what to do. Ben Askren
People who are great at what they do, they do it the same way no matter who the opponent is. Ben Askren
I try to wrestle one time a week with good, solid people. Ben Askren
If you can’t say where you’re going, you’re not going to get there. And I’ve known all along where I’m going, and sometimes the road takes a few curves that you didn’t see, but you’ve got to stay the path. Ben Askren
Every single time you compete, I don’t care what it is, you want to perform the best you can, and I feel like I’m doing that. Ben Askren
A Division I college wrestling team has so many guys at such a high level it’d be like having every single guy in the gym being a top 10 UFC guy, and that’s who you’re competing against every single day. Most everyone has been wrestling since they were 5 years old. It’s been their dream to wrestle in college. There’s such a high level of intensity. Ben Askren
So I think there’s a lot of people who are really interested to see how good I really am, because they know I’m good, but they’re not really sure how good. They want to see that, and there’s definitely interest in that, but because of some other people’s shortsightedness, maybe it never really happens. Ben Askren
I’m more of a purist competitor, and I enjoy the fighting aspect of it, but people enjoy my personality, and they enjoy that I tell the truth. Ben Askren
When you’re competing, you need to be selfish. You need to think of yourself first. Ben Askren
Andrey Koreshkov is not well-rounded. He’s been taken down and mounted and has his back taken by Lyman Good, which tells me he’s a terrible grappler. He isn’t well rounded. He’s a good striker, but that’s it. Ben Askren
People are stubborn, and sometimes even if change is good, people will always oppose change. Ben Askren
I have a great relationship with the whole Missouri athletic department. I made friends with everyone from the administrators to the janitors and everyone in between. Ben Askren
It’s like, hey, I’ve done what I could do, I’ve accomplished a lot, and now this – especially with wrestling – if this next generation wants to pass me up, great job. Good for them. Ben Askren
When I’m thinking of sports, when I’m thinking of a boy growing up and being a man, I’m thinking of three things – honor, integrity, and toughness. Ben Askren
Colby Covington has a very low IQ. He says a lot of stupid things, and it’s almost embarrassing that he represents our country that way. Ben Askren
I don’t like all the cheating that’s going in mixed martial arts. I don’t know what percentage of high-level fighters do it, but I think it would be a significant amount. Ben Askren
While it may not have been the flashiest or the most creative, I brought a very unique skill set, and I executed in a fashion that very few have done before me and, I think, very few will do after me. Ben Askren
One of the big things is I try not to worry about things I can’t control. Ben Askren
I just don’t get hit a lot. That’s what I’m good at. Ben Askren
When I couldn’t sign with the UFC, I think my goal of being Number 1 in the world went out the window. There’s just no way of doing that at Welterweight without being in the UFC. I could go 50-0, and as long as it’s outside the UFC, I’m not going to be Number 1. Ben Askren
I don’t care about having a fancy car. I don’t have a lot of the wants and needs that a lot of people have where I would need to make a $1 million a fight. Ben Askren
There are conferences every year where all the major coaches get together, and they talk about the issues in wrestling, what’s going to happen. There’s a major governing body, U.S.A. Wrestling, which oversees a lot of the issues. The organization is there in wrestling to make a very well-balanced, organized system. Ben Askren
I’ve got more skills in my pinky finger than half the damn guys in the UFC. Ben Askren
Man, I competed 40 times in three months when I was wrestling, my whole life. Ben Askren
I think a lot of fans don’t know MMA that well. They don’t understand the subtleties. Ben Askren
I like coaching a lot. Ben Askren
I got in MMA for one reason: to see if I could be the best in the world. Ben Askren
I don’t think the number of followers has anything to do with how good I am fighting. That said, I am good at fighting, and I do have a lot of followers. Ben Askren
I have nothing against Bellator at all. Ben Askren
My view on wrestling in MMA is changed a lot since I started really doing it. Ben Askren
If you look across my career, whether it be mixed martial arts or wrestling, it’s very, very, very rare that I lose to someone that I’m not supposed to. Ben Askren
I think I’m the best in the world at 170 pounds, so why would I need to go down? If, at some point, I beat everyone at 170, I’d consider going up. If I’ve eliminated all my challenges, yeah, at that point I would consider going up. Ben Askren
In wrestling, if you want to be the best wrestler, you show up at the U.S. Nationals. If you win that, you go to World Team Trials. You make the World Team, you go to the World Championships, and we all know who the best is at the end of the year. Ben Askren
I think every promoter’s job is to pump their athletes up. Like, you see, Dana White did it all the time with branding people: all of a sudden, they’re the best thing since sliced bread, just because that’s the promoter’s job. Ben Askren