Issue 114
May 2014
Ben Askren will walk straight into a One FC title fight in May, and the undefeated former Bellator champion just can’t stop smiling about it
After undefeated Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren was released from his contract with the company this past November it was widely assumed he would immediately take his talents to the premier organisation in mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. But as they say, when you assume ‘you make an ass out of you and me’ because the former Olympic wrestler is now plying his trade in Asia.
When asked about his departure from Bellator, subsequent brief talks with the UFC and finally his signing with the premier mixed martial arts promotion
in the Far East, One FC, the ‘Funky’ one
tells FO: “It was crazy. I knew my contract with Bellator was up and I wanted to go test the waters.
“It didn’t work out with the UFC and so I ended up with One FC and in a really good place. I had a meeting with Dana (White) and Lorenzo (Fertitta). The meeting itself went really well, but afterwards things didn’t go so well.”
Askren has not been shy about voicing his opinions, during interviews and even more famously on Twitter, about the UFC and more specifically White who Askren has referred to as “the fat bald man” on more than one occasion. So with that beef still piping hot it isn’t a huge surprise that a deal with the UFC failed to come to fruition.
So, unperturbed the American did the next best thing and signed a two-year
six-fight deal with top Asian promotion One FC. Having felt a possible lack of respect in the complete lack of an offer from the UFC, Askren is now getting plenty of recognition from Asia, including being offered an immediate title shot in May for the welterweight belt against the winner of Brock Larson and Nobutatsu Suzuki’s title fight on March 14th.
When asked what that level of respect feels like, Askren replies: “It’s really nice. I am ranked number seven in the world so they did show me a lot of respect coming in, and offering me an immediate title shot is awesome.”
Yet committing to One FC in the way has does throw up the question of how Askren will cope with all the travelling, nevermind the juggling act he’ll have to perform. His home gym, Roufusport, his nationwide Askren Wrestling Academy camps, his work as matchmaker and star competitor with upstart wrestling organisation Agon WC, and his wife Amy and baby daughter are all centred around his hometown of Milwaukee.
But Ben seems to have it all figured out as he shares his thoughts on the travel. “I haven’t been over there yet. I did go to Singapore to train in 2012 and that went really well. I don’t anticipate it being an issue as I have travelled a lot in wrestling,” he says. “I’m going to go over there early and train with the Evolve Team and get the jet lag out the way prior to the fight.”
He continues: “Roufusport is my home base. I’m based out of Milwaukee so I spend the majority of my time training there but I needed a place to go over there (Asia) to be comfortable before my fights and Evolve is an amazing gym with a bunch of great coaches and fighters so I figured it was a natural fit for me. That will be my Asian home for all of my MMA fights.”
He also has his ducks in a row where the wrestling business is concerned. “I hired another employee for my academy and camps that will help out with a lot of the things I would have been doing while I’m gone. My brother is great and my high school coach is super reliable and very helpful.”
When asked about his growing family at home, he shares: “My wife and daughter at this point are planning on going with me. I don’t know if they will be able to make all the trips. The flights are free for the little one until she turns two. After that she might have to stay home with grandma. I think I have it all well planned out and handled.”
Undefeated in MMA yet often referred to as something of an outcast because of his outspokenness, Askren remains supremely confident, and, never short of a quote or two, he has long wanted a fight with former UFC welterweight champion Georges St Pierre, but understands that’s not much more than a dream right now.
He says: “I can’t create my own dream matchups. I’m not the matchmaker for One FC and this isn’t boxing so we don’t cross promote to make fights happen.”
Sure that GSP pairing seems to be out of the question now, but Askren has broadened his horizons and reaffirms, as he has before, that he’s the best welterweight in the world and that fans are going to have to accept it.
When asked why he thinks people aren’t as accepting of that fact as maybe they should be, he opines in a very honest and very matter-of-fact fashion: “It’s hard for them to see because I haven’t fought anybody very good.
“It’s not my fault. I can only fight whoever is in the cage. I think a lot of people don’t want to accept that because I haven’t beaten the best guys in the world. Just because I haven’t done it doesn’t mean I’m not the best.”
Speaking of fans and fan bases, Askren is about to tap into one of the biggest there is. One FC gets beamed live into over a billion homes in Asia, a figure not lost on the 12-0 grappler. “The Asian market is just gigantic, with over four billion people there. When you think about how big that market is, it’s just huge. China, India and Japan are economic powers. We are in a billion homes so I will get a lot of people watching me fight and, hopefully, add a lot of new fans.”
One FC implements many of the same rules as Pride FC, including soccer kicks and knees to downed opponents. Being such a ground wizard, Askren is excited to be able to throw knees on the ground now too. “Oh, man, from a front headlock position or the turtle and having arm and head control. From a crucifix, there will be so many positions where I will fully take advantage of the knees to a downed opponent rule,” he smiles.
Askren is confident that One FC can keep the competition coming, offering enough high-level, high-profile fights to keep him busy and engaged; but even if they don’t, Ben is going to do what Ben does best.
“I’m trying to get better for myself,” he says. “I’m not the kind of guy who fights to the level of my competition. If the competition want to try and fight at my level I’m just going to smash them. I’m not a person who’s motivated by levels of competition. I’m just ready to compete at the highest level.”
Askren’s also very confident in the direction One FC is headed under the leadership of CEO Victor Cui, and familiar faces like Matt Hume among others. He states: “I believe they’re doing a great job. They have figured out how to market and how to reach people in Asia. That is something the UFC hasn’t even done at this point. They have the formula and they are building rapidly. As I said, they’re in a billion homes already so how far will they have come five years from now?”
One thing is for certain, Ben Askren is happy. He has found a new home with One FC and is looking to spread the joy to a billion new fans.
WHO’S BORING?
A common misconception Ben Askren would like to clear up is that of his reputation as being a boring fighter. Some might call it ‘lay ‘n’ pray,’ ‘dry humping’ or worse, while others may argue what he does on the ground is genius.
To be able to completely control another high-level fighter who is doing everything he can to get back to his feet, but simply can’t, just toying with them even, that’s impressive. Ben says: “That comes from wrestling and jiu-jitsu.
“You almost have to practise those arts to really understand how difficult doing some of that stuff is. If you don’t get it you just don’t get it. I think that is hard for a lot of people to understand. It takes a lot of skill. If it was really that easy you would see more people doing it.”
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