Had a lot of fun talking wrestling, MMA and cauliflower ear in Pittsburgh recently: https://t.co/uzHNFWbBAc
— Ryan Hockensmith (@RyanHockensmith) April 3, 2019
PITTSBURGH -- This is his home, and these are 18,000 of his friends, so Ben Askren doesn't hesitate when he sees a pocket of open seats.
"Are these taken?" he says to three middle-aged dudes in Iowa State gear.
The strangers immediately recognize Askren -- the UFC star and former Missouri All-American wrestler -- but they barely look up from the eight matches below. Here at the NCAA wrestling championships in mid-March, Askren is an A-list star, but he's like a famous person at his own family reunion -- so popular and well-known that nobody really bothers him for selfies or introductions. He's just good ol' Uncle Ben walking around.