‘The world would be better off not having the IOC,’ says former UFC star and Olympic wrestler Ben Askren – ‘MMA is in a great place without it’.

Ben Askren seems to bury the hatchet with Jorge Masvidal after picking him as his 2019 fighter of the year – ‘I’d like to pick Israel Adesanya over him, but I think that would be disingenuous’.

Jorge Masvidal seems to bury hatchet with retired UFC star Ben Askren, whom he says is ‘not on my aggressive meter’ any more – ‘we never met at Whole Foods’.

Ben Askren says he already has a lot going on after hanging up his MMA gloves for the second time – so much so he’s putting his hip replacement back to August

Jorge Masvidal praises former foe Ben Askren for ‘never tucking tail after his loss’ in another social media swipe at Colby Covington’s UFC 245 blame game.

Firas Zahabi says retired Georges St-Pierre is ‘the world’s greatest martial artist’ and would shine as an injury replacement for Colby Covington or Kamaru Usman.

‘BMF’ champion Jorge Masvidal thinks Ben Askren needs to ‘get back on the horse and figure it out rather than quitting MMA – ‘you got two losses, it’s no big deal my brother’.

In light of former UFC welterweight Askren’s abrupt retirement from the sport, fellow fighters show their respect for the former champion and four-time All-American wrestler.

‘Funky’ is contemplating retirement but UFC president Dana White hails ‘incredible’ fight with Demian Maia – ‘I like Ben Askren and we’ll see what’s next for him’.

‘Can I place my time better somewhere else?’ says Askren, after admitting he has not executed on his UFC opportunity as back-to-back defeats leave him with 1-2 record.

Demian Maia hands Askren the first submission defeat of his career in the main event of UFC Fight Night 162 Singapore.

‘That night I went to the after party. The next day I went to a pool party … There was no time to waste sitting in my room crying,’ says Askren.