Ben Askren Set to Fight for ONE FC 170-Pound Title on May 30th
Undefeated former Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren is set to make his ONE FC debut on May 30. He will go up against the winner of the 170-pound title tilt between Nobutatsu Suzuki and Brock Larson, which is booked for Kuala Lumpur on March 14.
Suzuki (10-1-2) and Larson (37-7) are set to face off in the main event of ONE FC: War of Nations in Malaysia next month with the inaugural welterweight title on the line. If the winner emerges sufficiently unscathed, he can expect to make an immediate defense against Askren 10 weeks later.
Askren (12-0) has been his usual outspoken self this week, talking to reporters before the World MMA Awards in Las Vegas and he stated in an interview with Yahoo, “I'm the best damn welterweight in the world, and that's a fact the fans are going to have to deal with.”
He didn’t comment on the prospect of facing either Larson or Suzuki specifically, but Askren alluded to his undefeated record and the questions over who ONE FC would find to face him by saying, “I'm going to keep winning every fight that is put in front of me, and as a fighter, that's all you can do.”
ONE FC is widely rumored to be heading to Manila in April with the May 30 card likely to be held in the Singapore Indoor Stadium. If he makes a successful debut, Askren can expect to pocket a cool $100,000 USD, as well as winning the belt, under the terms of the six-fight contract he signed with Asia’s biggest MMA promotion.
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