Ben Askren looking forward to Pride Rules in ONE FC
“I’m the best damn welterweight in the world,” said Ben Askren, who is signed with ONE FC. “And that’s a fact the fans are going to have to deal with.”
Ben Askren is an Olympian, undefeated, world-class fighter, and in a shameful moment for the sport, neither of the world’s two leading fight promotions wanted to sign him. There was ultimately justice, when Askren signed with the Singapore-based ONE FC, and for an excellent payout.
He has a six-fight contract with One FC over two years, and he gets $50,000 to show and $50,000 more to win for this first fight, with purse increases if he wins.
Askren’s first fight will be for the ONE FC welterweight title in May, against the winner of Brock Larson vs. Nobutatsu Suzuki, which takes place on the March 14.
ONE FC uses a variation of the old Pride Rules, something the wrestling-based fighter is eager to try out.
“I’m excited about the new rules,” said the Roufusports trained Askren. “I torture a lot of the guys in my gym. I’ll hold them down and fake like I’m throwing a knee to the head and I’ll say to them, ‘If we’re in Asia, you’re screwed right now.’ The knees on the ground are going to work beautifully in my style. I’ve played around with it in the gym and I see at least five or six different ways I can successfully implement that technique, especially.”
“Obviously no one ever sees it, but I think my standup is pretty good, actually. A lot of the guys in our gym who are considered good strikers, they would attest to that if you asked them that same question. Obviously, my comfort level on my feet now is through the roof. I know it is very unlikely that anyone is going to stop me from taking them down, but if in fact that does happen, I’m comfortable on my feet. I train with literally some of the best strikers in MMA on a daily basis in the gym, so it’s had a huge impact.”
“I went to a very high leve [of competition]l very quickly and that left me with a lot of tools I didn’t have in my arsenal to do what I needed to do. I was fighting for a Bellator title within two years of starting my pro career and I had a real striking coach for four months.”
“I’m the best damn welterweight in the world, and that’s a fact the fans are going to have to deal with. 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. You can’t go make up match-ups. I can’t go, ‘Hey GSP, let’s go fight in the parking lot of the Hard Rock.’ Well, I could, but we’d go to jail and we’d make no money. As a fighter, I can only win the fights that are in front of me.
“I’ve only had one that was even remotely close. That was the only fight I’ve lost a round in. I think I’ve won every other round in my entire career. Not only that, I’ve trained with a lot of the guys who are in the Top 10 and I know where my skill level is. I’m very comfortable with that.”