Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Ben Askren
will have a fairytale ending to his wrestling career irrespective
of the outcome of his next match.

Askren is scheduled to face Belal
Muhammad in the co-main event at RAF 11 in front of his home
fans in Milwaukee. Most thought Askren would never compete again
when he was battling a life-threatening case of pneumonia last
year. The Olympic gold medalist looked nothing like himself after
undergoing a double lung transplant exactly a year ago. However,
Askren recovered well and gradually returned to the wrestling mats
at his training academy.

UFC veteran Ben Askren returns to wrestling after surviving a
major medical scare

Currently a commentator and ambassador at RAF, Askren had no plans
to compete while urging the promotion to come to his hometown.
However, he couldn't resist the idea when he learned that RAF would
come to Milwaukee on his birthday.

Askren has confirmed that he will hang up his wrestling shoes for
good after his match against Muhammad this weekend.

“I don't want to do any more matches. This is it for me,†Askren
told MMA Fighting. “I never really even had the idea. I did
encourage RAF to come to Milwaukee because we do have a strong
wrestling base here… I knew we would sell a bunch of tickets. So, I
said, ‘Hey guys, Milwaukee's great in the summer; come to
Milwaukee.' We'll sell a bunch of tickets; we'll probably be able
to attract the Chicago crowd too, because they had a great show
there last November or whenever it was. And when they told me it
was going to be on my birthday, something just said, ‘Ben, get out
there and wrestle. It's a year after your transplant. It's your
birthday; it's your hometown. Go do it.'â€

Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Cris
Cyborg is ready to embrace a new chapter once her legendary
mixed martial arts career comes to an end.

The reigning
Professional Fighters League champion has revealed that she
plans to start a family after her retirement bout against Ketlen
Vieira at
PFL Tampa on Aug. 22. She also confirmed that she has one more
boxing match scheduled for later this year.

Cris Cyborg's final MMA chapter has a deeply personal goal

Speaking to Sherdog’s Marcelo Alonso ahead of her farewell MMA
fight, Cyborg explained that her decision to retire is fueled by a
personal goal.

“I’ll never stop training because I love competing,†she said.
“I’ve been training since I was 12 years old. I started fighting
professionally at 19. This healthy lifestyle has allowed me to
reach 41 years old in great health and still performing at an elite
level. It’s become part of who I am, and I won’t change that.â€

The Brazilian, who turned 41 on July 9, confirmed that she already
has a boxing bout booked after facing Vieira but intends to focus
on starting a family after her retirement.

A middleweight
title fight headlines PFL Austin: Tune on Saturday, July 18 at 8
p.m. ET on ESPN.

“But I’ve always wanted to become a mother. Now I plan to get
pregnant and begin this new chapter,” she added.

Cyborg also said that she's happy to have fellow Brazilian Vieira,
a top-ranked contender whom the UFC opted against re-signing, as
her last opponent in MMA.

“I believe Ketlen is in her prime,” Cyborg said. “Just a few months
ago, she was ranked in the top three, so I’m happy to have a ranked
and highly credible opponent for my final fight.”

Cyborg enters the bout as one of the most accomplished female
fighters in MMA history. She will look to cap off her career with a
30th professional victory before shifting her focus to motherhood.

A former UFC executive from the nascent days of the company's building process now finds himself in a similar role with a surging bare-knuckle boxing promotion. Loren Mack is now the Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Strategy for BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, as announced in a press release leading into their stacked BKB 56 card in Los Angeles on Saturday, July 18th.

Mack also has experience in this lane with ONE Championship during the years when the powerhouse Asian combat sports league had more of a defined focus on promoting mixed martial arts. Loren Mack was most recently the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications for the Professional Fighters League, and in the wake of PFL San Diego and the looming summer series for PFL, now finds himself with a promotion that is vying for hierarchical placement in a surging sport as BKFC continues to serve the same master.

Global brand growth across several proven combat sports properties in a demonstrable way is now within the scope of Mack's deliverables as he aims to further bolster the international profile of BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing during a key transformative period for the sport.

BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing announcement touched on by the promotional CEO as well as by Loren Mack himself

David Tetreault is the Chief Executive Officer of BKB, and when discussing the onboarding of Mack to their brand, Tetreault said [via BKB's press release],

“BKB has achieved extraordinary growth over the past several years, and we're assembling an executive team capable of taking the organization to the next level. Loren brings a rare combination of strategic vision, marketing expertise, commercial leadership, and deep industry relationships developed over more than two decades in sports.â€

“His experience building global brands and driving business growth will be invaluable as we continue expanding our audience, strengthening our partnerships, and continue to bring BKB to millions of fans around the world.â€

Also responding to this BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing news is the man himself, as Mack stated [via BKB's press release,

“I've been fortunate to be part of some incredible organizations throughout my career, but I truly believe this represents the biggest opportunity in combat sports today. BKB has incredible momentum and has established itself as the largest and most-watched bare knuckle boxing organization in the world. I'm excited to help continue to elevate the brand, expand its global footprint, develop new business opportunities, and introduce BKB to millions of new fans around the world.â€