MANILA, Philippines – ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren seeks to redeem himself in front of the Filipino fight fans after the anticlimactic outcome of his first visit in the country.
Askren, who is widely regarded as one of the best welterweight fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) today, headlined the promotion’s “Valor of Champions” card in April 2015, which marked ONE Championship’s sixth venture on Philippine shores.
In his fist title defense since capturing the gold-plated strap from Nobutatsu Suzuki in August 2014, Askren was slated to square off with Luis “Sapo” Santos, a Brazilian veteran who has a 73-fight experience and made appearances in various organizations such as World Extreme Cagefighting, Xtreme Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA.
It was billed to be a promising bout between two top welterweights, but expectations blundered due to the controversial result of the match-up.
Askren kept the belt around his waist, but not under the circumstances he would have wanted as he and Santos fought to a no contest.
His left thumb accidentally poked the right eye of Santos, causing the action to halt at 2:19 of the first round and rendering his foe unable to continue the scheduled 5-round clash.
Santos was giving Askren the toughest challenge that the former NCAA Division I wrestler has faced in years, successfully sprawling out of 5 takedown attempts and even reversing two more.
In addition, ONE Championship’s modified rule-set seemed to be an advantage for Santos as he looked to clobber knees to the head and soccer kicks when Askren went on the attack.
Askren was not dissuaded as he waded forward to secure a body lock and then wrestled Santos to score his first successful takedown, but the champion unintentionally gouged Santos’ eye while closing the distance.
The 31-year-old grappler from Milwaukee, Wisconsin had the chance to settle the score with Santos this past November in Singapore, but the much-awaited rematch was cancelled after the challenger failed to meet the contracted weight limit.
Askren has moved on from the incident with Santos, but winning the hearts and gaining the respect of the local crowd in the Philippines are his main objectives as he sets foot on the archipelago's soil once more to take on Russian stalwart Nikolay Aleksakhin in the main event of ONE: Global Rivals on April 15.
“It feels great [to fight again in Manila]. I was so disappointed in how my first fight turned out and I know it left a lot of fans disappointed. I hope I can have a second chance at a first impression with the fans of Manila,” he told Rappler.
2015 turned to be a sour year for Askren, but he plans to maximize ONE Championship's 2016 calendar to make it up for his year-long absence.
“I haven't fought more than twice in a calendar year since 2014. I have been the champ in every organization I have fought with. I hope that this is the year that it happens,” he stated.
In his initial assignment for 2016, Askren locks horns with Aleksakhin, who poses a real threat to his reign as the ONE Championship welterweight kingpin.
Aleksakhin made his promotional debut last November, forcing Burenzorig Batmunkh to tap with a third-round rear-naked choke.
The 25-year-old Russian holds a 16-3 win-loss slate and is also riding high on a 6-fight victory parade, winning 4 of them by way of stoppage.
“He thinks he is on the same level as I am, but I will knock him back down,” Askren said of his opponent.
Securing 8 finishes in 14 professional wins, Askren confidently vowed that he is going to walk out of the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City with his hand raised in triumph.
“I will totally dominate him in every aspect of the fight. Come check out my fight on April 15 and you will leave happy,” he ended. – Rappler.com