Ben Askren has no intention of giving up welterweight gold in career’s final bout

Ben “Funky” Askren isn’t just the reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion, but he is also universally recognized as one of the best welterweights in the entire world.

Askren is highly regarded for his outstanding wrestling background that earned him two NCAA Division I national championship trophies and the privilege to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Growing up in the Midwestern United States, a region traditionally known as a hotbed for amateur wrestling, Askren was motivated by the spirit of competition and wanted to participate in a sport where he could be the master of his own fate.

Askren had long planned switch to mixed martial arts and conquer that sport once he hung up his wrestling boots.

Following his 2008 Olympic campaign, Askren made the transition and has flawlessly translated his exemplary grappling skills into his growing skillset.

In his eight-year run as a professional martial artist, Askren holds an immaculate standing of 17-0, 1 No Contest, owning five submission victories and five knockout triumphs.

The 33-year-old American will step into the cage for the very last time on Friday, 24 November as he defends his coveted title against former ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki in the main event of ONE: IMMORTAL PURSUIT, which takes place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

Coming off masterful performance against talented challengers such as Agilan Thani and Zebaztian Kadestam in 2017, Askren looks to cap off a momentous year and an illustrious career with one last title defense versus a tough opponent like Aoki.

“Shinya is a really good final opponent. Obviously, he is a legend of the sport, and he is a really big challenge on the ground, which is where I like to compete, personally. I am excited for this bout,” he said about his marquee match-up with Aoki.

Askren revealed that he did not think a match with Aoki was an option, considering the 34-year-old Tokyo, Japan native is an Evolve MMA teammate.

However, Askren admitted that the more he thought about it, the more he loved the idea of sharing a martial arts platform with Aoki.

“He is a grappler and has a great skill set that I respect, so I think it will be a great battle,” Askren quipped.

Known by his cage moniker “Tobikan Judan” or “The Grandmaster of Flying Submissions” due to his spectacular submission victories, Aoki is widely regarded as the most dominant lightweight in Asia for the better part of the last decade as he has had 47 professional bouts and strutted his wares in various promotions.

In addition, Aoki proudly owns black belts in both Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and has won an astonishing 25 of his 39 matches via submission.

Even with Aoki’s accomplishments and his dynamic grappling pedigree, which vastly contrasts from the American’s approach in the cage, Askren guaranteed that he will continue to employ his signature game plan of wrestling his opponent to the ground and using an impeccable top game to finish off his opposition.

“I said from day one that I am the best in the world at what I do, and this is what I am going to do every single time. I have been saying that since I started in 2009, and I believe it more strongly than ever because I have proved it 17 times now, and I am pumped to prove it again,” he stated.

Askren maintained that he has no intentions of giving up his gold-plated strap to Aoki as he collides with the Japanese submission wizard at ONE: IMMORTAL PURSUIT.

“He’s going to stick around until I put him out,” the undefeated ONE Welterweight World Champion declared with confidence.

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​For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest global sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE Championship is the home of martial arts. The world’s most exciting martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world's best martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 1 billion potential viewers across 128+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including Fox Sports, ABS-CBN, Astro, ClaroSports, Bandsports, Startimes, Premier Sports, Thairath TV, Skynet, Mediacorp, OSN, and more.

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Ben Askren Vows to Put Swedish Foe in Wrestling Clinic

Even though there are many combat practices in mixed martial arts, undefeated ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben “Funky” Askren stands firm on the notion that wrestling is the most vital discipline in the sport.

In the constantly-evolving arena of martial arts, many competitors and coaches are still striving to discover what training formula results in consistent success.

Wrestling has been often regarded as the best foundation in the sport as numerous wrestlers transitioned easily into the sport, including Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Daniel Cormier, Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell and Frankie Edgar.

Throughout the course of mixed martial arts history, wrestlers have shared the cage with other practitioners on numerous occasions.

In the current state of the sport, wrestling has become a necessary requirement for combatants to extensively learn.

“If you’re going to ask a lot of the mixed martial artists, they’re going to say that wrestling is the number one martial art to learn,” Askren said.

Askren is highly regarded for his outstanding wrestling background that earned him two NCAA Division I national championship trophies and the privilege to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

While many children were motivated to first pick up a basketball because of Michael Jordan or kick a soccer ball because of David Beckham, Askren was a little different.

Growing up in the Midwestern United States, a region traditionally known as a hotbed for amateur wrestling, Askren was motivated by the spirit of competition and wanted to participate in a sport where he could be the master of his own fate.

“What really attracted me to wrestling was it was a one-on-one sport, and you make or break your destiny. I did not like to let other people control my destiny. I wanted to be in control of my own destiny. I wanted it to be my fault if I won, or my fault if I lost, so I guess I had a hard time with other people having control over my outcomes,” he shared.

Askren had long planned switch to mixed martial arts and conquer that sport once he hung up his wrestling boots.

Following his 2008 Olympic campaign, Askren made the transition and has flawlessly translated his impeccable grappling skills into his growing skillset.

The 33-year-old American has been perfect in competition, amassing an immaculate professional record of 16-0 with 1 no contest en route to becoming the ONE Welterweight World Champion.

“Being a champion is more than wearing a gold belt around your waist,. It is a lot about how you live, and a lot about how you affect others around you by the way you live and train,” Askren explained.

Askren plans to show everyone just how good he is once again on Saturday, 2 September when he defends his ONE Welterweight World Championship against Swedish contender Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam in the main event of ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI, which takes place at the 15,000-capacity Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China.

A tall order is in front of Askren as unlike the Olympian’s previous opponents, Kadestam is armed with a dangerous striking game as he possesses a top-shelf Muay Thai skillset with knockout power.

Kadestam made headlines last May when he defeated Santos as the little-known Swede had been completely dominated in the opening two rounds of the contest before pulling off a miraculous knockout in the final stanza.

Askren admitted that Kadestam’s shocking conquest of Santos nearly five months ago caught his attention.

“He is tough and he is durable, and that showed in the match with Santos. He took some hard shots, but stayed in there and kept competing,” he said of the Swedish standout.

Although he stakes his undefeated record and the coveted ONE Welterweight World Championship title against a dangerous foe like Kadestam, Askren believes there is nothing his opponent can do that will prepare him for what is about to come.

"It does not matter what my opponent's strengths and weaknesses are because at the end of the day, I have got the trump card. He cannot stop my wrestling, then he is going to be on his back, and he is going to get beaten up,” he declared.

“I will come across the cage, I will grab you, I will put you on your back, and I will punch you until you ask the referee to stop me from doing so. The other option is that I am going to make you tap,” Askren added.

For the past eight years, dating back to his professional debut in February 2009, his unstoppable strategy has worked brilliantly for Askren, who does not see any reason to stray from his strength.

“I am really effective at what I do. I never made a secret of it, and I always played to my strengths, and that is something a lot of people get away from. They do not play to their strengths, and I always play to my strengths, and I have been very focused and determined on what I do. So far, it has worked out well,” he stressed.

With his superb wrestling pedigree, Askren plans to exhibit another masterful performance as he shares the ONE Championship cage with a ferocious striker like Kadestam.

“Although Zebaztian Kadestam might be an underdog, I am not taking this match lightly. I know the feeling. I’ve been in that situation. Nobody should write off an underdog. But this is what I can assure. Wrestling has always been my bread-and-butter. Once I get you on the mat, it’s a matter of seconds before I finish you,” he guaranteed.

​For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE Championship is the home of martial arts. The world’s most exciting martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world's best martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 1 billion potential viewers across 128+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.

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Ben Askren returns to ONE Cage to face Russian foe

ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben “Funky” Askren would like nothing more than to return to the cage and do what he does best and that’s to get in, dominate, and get out. The 31-year old former NCAA Division I wrestler from Arizona has been out of competition for nearly a year, but the good news is, he’s about a month away from climbing back in.

Askren (14-0) will face Russia’s Nikolay Aleksakhin (17-3) in a five round welterweight bout for Askren’s title. The bout will headline ONE Championship’s first event in Manila this year, called ONE: GLOBAL RIVALS.

Last April 2015, Askren battled hulkish Brazilian foe Luis “Sapo” Santos to a No Contest ruling after Santos deemed himself unable to continue after an inadvertent eye poke. A highly-anticipated rematch was scheduled months later in Singapore, only to have Santos miss weight and the bout cancelled at the eleventh hour.

In the first bout, Santos used his indomitable size and strength to throw Askren around like a ragdoll, manhandling him like never before seen in his career. Inevitably however, Santos began to fade and it started to look like Askren was about to take over -- and then the bout was cut short and the rest was history.

Since then, Santos has moved on for the time being, as he defeated Portuguese fighter Rafael Silva just last month in Jakarta, leaving Askren to deal with Aleksakhin.

Though Askren and Santos are still expected to cross paths sometime in the near future, Askren will have to successfully defend his belt against his Russian adversary to set the stage for the Santos rematch.

For his part, Aleksakhin is certainly no pushover, having won his last six bouts while notching three technical knockouts and a submission win to his credit.

He’s competed largely in his native country for most of his career, but last November, Aleksakhin debuted for ONE Championship with an impressive third-round rear naked choke of Mongolia’s Burenzorig Batmunkh. He’s expected to give Askren a stern challenge at the very least.

Askren is an All-American and collegiate wrestling legend. In just a few fights in ONE, Askren was able to seize the ONE Welterweight World Championship with a resounding technical knockout victory over Nobutatsu Suzuki in 2014.

The highly-skilled Askren is also widely considered to be the absolute best in his division and one of the best fighters in the world pound-for-pound.

Whether or not there are enough welterweight fighters out there like Aleksakhin and Santos to provide the American with a steady stream of worthy challengers remains to be seen.

For now, Askren is content with making that trip halfway across the world to Asia from his home in Phoenix twice a year to show fans what a world-ranked athlete looks like.

If he defeats Aleksakhin like he is supposed to, expect talks of another Askren-Santos bout shortly after.

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