Brendan Schaub weighs in on Ben Askren’s retirement

Brendan Schaub is giving Ben Askren props for giving it a shot with the UFC.

Askren wrapped up his MMA career after going 1-2 under the UFC banner. “Funky” cited needing to undergo hip replacement surgery as the reason for his decision. While Askren’s UFC run may not have been a total success, his reigns as the Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight ruler haven’t gone unnoticed.

Schaub took to his Below The Belt podcast to say that he understands Askren’s decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CEFfy8qdZA

“I don’t have a problem with it, Schaub said of Ben Askren’s retirement. “It’s like, he came when he was older. He’s what? 35? So it’s like he came late to the game, was in some big fights. I still think the UFC got the most benefit from the trade with ‘Mighty Mouse.’ You don’t have the legend of [Jorge] Masvidal without Ben Askren. It takes two to tango to become a superstar. Ben helped with that. His sh*t talking, his controversial fight with Robbie Lawler. I get it. Then you lose to Demian Maia, so it’s kind of like what else is he gonna do?”

The “legend of Masvidal” Schaub refers to is when “Gamebred” scored a five-second knockout victory over Askren via flying knee back in July. Schaub added that he doesn’t understand why people like to hate on Askren.

“I know people wanna sh*t on Ben Askren,” Schaub continued. “I don’t get it. Kudos to him cause he didn’t have to do anything. Kudos for him for giving it a go man. Being like, ‘alright it didn’t work out.’ You beat Robbie Lawler. Obviously super controversial but he still beat Robbie Lawler, a Hall of Famer. So it’s like, alright now we know. Cool man.”

Askren walks away from mixed martial arts competition with a record of 19-2, 1 NC. As previously mentioned, he held world titles for two major promotions outside the UFC. Time will tell what’s next for “Funky,” but one option could be in the commentary booth.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/21/2019.