Ben Askren: Wrestling and MMA | Lex Fridman Podcast #242

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

November 20, 2021

Duration

2h 15m

Channel

Lex Fridman Podcast

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Ben Askren is a wrestler and MMA fighter, former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champion, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion and four-time finalist. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

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EPISODE LINKS: Ben's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Benaskren Ben's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benaskren/ Ben's Website: https://www.benaskren.com/ Ben's Wrestling Academy: https://awawisconsin.com/ PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 1:06 - Woodley vs Jake Paul boxing match 4:56 - Askren vs Jake Paul boxing match 7:30 - Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Dake 18:44 - Askren vs Burroughs charity match 23:28 - Champion mentality and handling losses 37:47 - Future interest in competition 47:17 - Askren's early career 58:05 - Robots wrestling 1:12:46 - Olympics 1:18:53 - Dagestan wrestling 1:24:58 - Askren Wrestling Academy 1:40:39 - Khabib Nurmagomedov 1:47:16 - 2020 Olympics 1:48:56 - Wrestling dominance in MMA SOCIAL:

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• Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Lex Fridman

  host

• Ben Askren

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Ben Askren, Ben Askren: Wrestling and MMA | Lex Fridman Podcast #242 explores ben Askren on Wrestling Mastery, Losing, Khabib, and Bitcoin’s Future Ben Askren talks with Lex Fridman about his dominant wrestling and MMA career, including his run in Bellator and ONE Championship, and the psychology behind both winning and losing. He breaks down his fights with Jake Paul and Jorge Masvidal, explaining why those losses don’t define him and how he evaluates risk, money, and legacy. They dive deep into wrestling technique, training methodology, and talent development, including stories about Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Dake, Dagestani wrestling, and how to build great athletes. Askren also discusses crypto, why Bitcoin’s philosophy appealed to him as an ‘end the Fed’ guy, and how lessons from wrestling translate into broader life advice.

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