5 UFC legends who competed at the Olympics

#4. Ben Askren

Ben Askren

Starting as a folkstyle wrestler, Ben Askren transitioned to freestyle wrestling to win the US national championship in 2007 and make it to the Olympics team. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Askren came up victorious in the first round but eventually fell short in the quarterfinals.

Along with being a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion, the UFC legend and Olympian has won several national and pan-American accolades in wrestling.

Ben Askren made his MMA debut in 2009 and remained undefeated for a decade, picking up a 19-fight winning streak. In the process, 'Funky' also became the welterweight champion at Bellator and ONE FC.

Ben Askren then went 1-2 in the UFC, picking up the only two losses of his career in 2019. Casual fight fans might write him off as an odd-ball or only remember him for his five-second KO loss against Jorge Masvidal. However, Askren is nothing less than an MMA legend who was talented and hardworking enough to make it to the Olympics.

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#3. Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo is the fourth UFC athlete to hold titles in two different weight divisions simultaneously. At UFC 249, he became the second fighter in the promotion to defend titles in two different weight divisions. However, what is even more interesting about the former UFC champion is that he is an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling.

In fact, 'Triple C' is the only champion in UFC history to have won an Olympic gold. Rightly so, he is widely considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.

Aged 21 at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Henry Cejudo became the youngest American to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling. The record was broken in 2016, but Cejudo cemented his place as one of the greatest UFC legends to have a golden history at the Olympics.