Ben Askren makes ONE FC debut in May for welterweight title
Ben Askren was hoping his first fight for ONE FC would be for a title. It will be.
Askren (12-0) will make his promotional debut in May, and he’ll be fighting for the ONE FC welterweight title. The former Bellator MMA champion made the announcement Thursday on MMAjunkie Radio.
Askren will fight the winner of next month’s title fight between former UFC fighter Brock Larson and Nobutatsu Suzuki. That fight takes place at “ONE FC 14: War of Nations†on March 14 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“It’s good,†Askren told MMAjunkie Radio. “It’s nice they gave me an immediate title shot. I proved my worth in my past fights, so I can just hop in there and go right for the title.â€
A precise date for the event, which is expected to be ONE FC 15, has not yet been announced. But the promotion, in an official release, said the event will take place at Singapore Indoor Stadium, a 15,000-seat venue in Kallang, Singapore, that has been home to four previous ONE FC events.
“ONE FC fans all around the world are pumped to see Ben fight in the largest MMA organization in Asia,†ONE FC CEO Victor Cui stated. “He is one of the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artists on this planet.â€
Askren left Bellator MMA as a free agent this past fall, vacating his welterweight title. Most thought he was a slam dunk to sign with the UFC. But after a meeting, that didn’t happen. Instead, the 2008 Olympian and four-time NCAA All-American wrestler signed a two-year, six-fight deal with ONE FC.
“I’ve moved on,†Askren recently told MMAjunkie Radio in a previous appearance earlier this year. “I’ve accepted what’s happened, and I’m looking forward to what’s going to happen in the future. … I’m not a begging person; that’s fine. I understand you don’t want me, and I’ll go on my way and help another organization succeed. Hopefully I get a title shot fairly soon – obviously I think I deserve it. In my first or second fight, I would hope I’d be fighting for (the title).â€
But as for who he would prefer to fight between Larson and Suzuki, Askren said he doesn’t care – but anticipates he might be meeting Larson.
“I’ve seen Larson. He’s been around for a long time,†Askren said. “I’ve seen some highlights of Suzuki. Larson is a strong kid, a tough kid. I would lean toward Larson with the experience advantage if I had to. But I don’t care. It’s never really mattered to me.â€
