Ben Askren is a former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter from the United States.
Early life
Ben Askren was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on July 18, 1984.
He was a two-time NCAA Division 1 national champion at the University of Missouri. He won gold medals at the 2005 Pan American Championship, the 2008 US National Championship, and the 2009 World Championship at the time of his non-professional career.
Career
In February 2009, he made his professional MMA debut and defeated his opponent by TKO in the first round.
He joined the Bellator MMA organisation in 2010. He competed in nine Bellator fights before joining ONE FC in 2014. He competed in seven ONE FC fights before joining the UFC in 2019.
Askren made his UFC debut at UFC 235 on March 2, 2019, defeating Shinya Aoki in the first round.
On July 6, 2019, he suffered his first professional career defeat at the hands of Jorge Masvidal. Askren received a career-high $210,000 just for attending the match, plus a cut of the Pay Per View revenue.
Ben Askren agreed to fight YouTube personality Jake Paul in a boxing match on April 17, 2021, after both of them were indulged in a social media feud. He was guaranteed at least $500,000 just for showing up to the fight.
His total payout could be in the low $1 million range in the end if we combined Pay Per view bonuses and other revenue. However, Jake Paul defeated Askren at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Earnings
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ben Askren’s net worth is estimated to be $500,000.
Askren earned $830,500 during his brief stint in the UFC. He was paid $210,000 just to appear in his fight against Masvidal, and $200,000 to appear in his fight against Demian Maia.
Askren’s earnings prior to the UFC (Bellator, One, and) are not publicly available. In his debut with ONE FC, he revealed to Sports Illustrated that he was paid $50,000 just to show up and another $50,000 as a win bonus.
Read more: Jake Paul net worth: How much does the YouTube megastar earn?