On paper, it looks like Ben's recent losses, coupled with his very vocal preferences for wrestling over MMA, must mean that he's lost his taste for the sport. However, the real reason he is retiring is because of a recurring hip injury that'll require a replacement. Ben didn't use his hip problems as an excuse for his losses, however, and said it was simply because his opponents were better.

Ever a controversial figure, Ben received nothing but respect from fellow Mixed Martial artists who showed love to the grappler after his announcement. Light Heavyweight standout, Corey Anderson, credited Askren for his involvement with MMA, and longtime provocateur, Dillon Danis, even tipped his hat to Ben.

Askren officially announced his retirement to ESPN.

"I think it’s quite obvious what I’m going to say. I’m retiring from the sport of MMA and frankly I’m retired from everything. Obviously, it was something I was considering...I’ve been having hip problems and I finally had the discussion with my doctor … and I need a hip replacement. Man, that is it for me. I’m filled with gratitude at how great of a career I’ve had even though obviously in the end it did not go my way...yeah unless there’s advancements on technology.

"If there was no hip thing, I would probably not be retiring but I wouldn’t be too far off. Listen, I’ve already retired once in 2017 … [because] I never had the ability to fight the top guys. When I got the opportunity in 2018, I took it, but I was already in retirement. I don’t want people to think that I’m using this as a reason to why I lost. I lost because I wasn’t good enough, plain and simple. My opponents beat me and were better than me … the hip issue is totally separate."

"But just because I wasn’t good enough in 2019 doesn’t take away from my previous accomplishments. I always envisioned myself doing grappling and wrestling tournaments but everyone I’ve talked to seems to recommend against that."