Bellator releases champion Ben Askren

Ben Askren is undefeated as a mixed martial artist, a perfect 12-0 as he won the Bellator welterweight title and defended it successfully five times.

Now, he's out of a job.

Bellator released its welterweight champion Thursday, the company announced.

“I’ve said it many times, Ben’s a completely one-dimensional fighter who is utterly dominant in that dimension,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a statement. “I had a number of discussions with Ben and it became clear it was time for both parties to move in different directions."

Askren had fulfilled his contractual obligations with his last fight -- a fourth-round TKO of Andrey Koreshkov last July.

A former Olympic wrestler, Askren is now an unrestricted free agent -- an important distinction for a Bellator fighter. Bellator's contract structure includes a right to match clause, one the company exercised -- and battled in court over it -- with Eddie Alvarez.

Alvarez had fulfilled his fight contract and was offered a deal with the UFC. Alvarez and Bellator fought through the courts about the issue. Alvarez eventually re-signed with Bellator and was to be featured on their debut pay-per-view card Nov. 2. Instead, that fight card was moved to Spike TV when the main event came undone, and Alvarez regained his lightweight title by beating Michael Chandler.

"We’ve relinquished any right to match here and Ben can sign with whoever he chooses to sign with," Rebney said. "Ben’s been at Bellator since the start of his career, I respect him and what he’s accomplished and wish him the best wherever he goes.”

The welterweight title will be vacant until Douglas Lima faces the winner of Bellator's Season 9 tournament.