Former UFC star Ben Askren doesn’t want MMA in ‘corrupt’ Olympics
- ‘The world would be better off not having the IOC ... MMA is in a great place without it,’ says retired UFC star
- ‘You’d have to dramatically change the sport of mixed martial arts,’ adds the former Olympic wrestler
Ben Askren is an Olympian and decorated MMA fighter. But he is adamant that never the twain shall meet, despite long-running efforts, and a new one out of Asia, to have MMA included in the Olympic Games.
While stopping short of saying “over my dead body”, Askren told the Post: “I don’t really see the need for MMA to become an Olympic sport. I think the Olympics is corrupt. I think the IOC [International Olympic Committee] is an awful organisation, and I think the world would be better off not having the IOC. So I think that MMA is in a great place without it.”
The “Funky” one competed for the US wrestling team at the Beijing Summer Games in 2008, and went on to have a stellar MMA career in which he won welterweight titles with Bellator and One Championship, before coming out of retirement last year to compete in the UFC.
He retired again last November because of a hip injury, with an overall 19-2 record.
Aside from his own views, Askren pointed out troublesome in-competition and logistical details of an MMA tournament at an Olympic Games.