Reaction video: Ben Askren announces retirement from MMA

Ben Askren announced his retirement from MMA on Monday, bringing an end to his 11-year, 22-fight career.

The UFC welterweight cited the need for hip-replacement surgery as one of the major determining factors in making the decision, which comes less than one month after Askren (19-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) suffered a submission loss to Demian Maia in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 20 in Singapore.

Askren’s UFC tenure only lasted less than eight months from the first time he stepped into the octagon to the last, but he managed to make that time period memorable, even if some of the reasons for that weren’t particularly positive for him.

The former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder was a polarizing figure, which means he made an impression during his stay in MMA

Watch the video above for analysis on Askren’s retirement decision and brief UFC run.