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Former UFC welterweight contender Ben Askren was back on the headlines of many sports news outlets after it was announced that he would be boxing YouTuber Jake Paul in 2021.
Jake Paul has been challenging Askren to a boxing bout for quite a while now, and the former Bellator and ONE world champion finally accepted:
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The two are set to meet on March 28th, 2021.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Before then, let's take a look at some important information about the man known as 'Funky'
Ben Askren's Age
'Funky' Ben Askren is 36 years old. He was born on July 18th, 1984 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States.
Askren is a ten-year veteran in mixed martial arts, having started his professional MMA career back in February of 2009. He retired in November of 2019, following back-to-back losses in the UFC.
Ben Askren's Height
Ben Askren stands at 5 feet-10 inches, which is right around the average for competitors in the UFC's welterweight division.
Ben Askren's Weight
Ben Askren spent most of his mixed martial arts career in the United States competing in the welterweight division. In American-based promotions like Bellator and the UFC, the welterweight division's limit is at 170-pounds.
When Askren took his talents to ONE Championship from 2014 to 2017, he still competed at welterweight. The difference however, is that ONE Championship's welterweight limit is set at 83.9-kilograms, or roughly 184-pounds, which is the middleweight limit in the UFC.
Given that Askren has been retired since November of last year, it's likely that he's walking around at upwards of 185-pounds. If he plans to maintain the same weight range when he makes his boxing debut against Jake Paul in March, they would likely be competing in the cruiserweight division, which has a weight limit of 200-pounds.
In each of Jake Paul's first two professional boxing bouts, he also competed within the cruiserweight limit, weighing in at 191.8-pounds and 189-pounds respectively.
Ben Askren UFC records
Ben Askren was at one point the best welterweight that wasn't in the UFC.
Askren tore through Bellator's welterweight division, claiming the promotion's welterweight title in 2010 and holding it until he left in 2013.
In 2014, Askren moved to Asia-based ONE Championship and continued his dominance there, winning the promotion's welterweight title and successfully defending it five times.
After a brief retirement, Askren returned to MMA, finally signing with the UFC in 2019. He would make an impressive statement in his debut, submitting Robbie Lawler.
Askren would not taste victory inside the Octagon again, losing his next two bouts against Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia before once again calling it a career in October of 2019.
Ben Askren retired with a 19-2 professional MMA record, with 6 wins coming by KO/TKO, 6 wins coming by submission, and 7 wins coming by decision.
In the UFC, Askren went 1-2, with his only two career losses coming inside the Octagon.
