MMA: Undefeated Ben Askren aims to take down his opponent in the first round

Undefeated former Bellator welterweight champion, Ben Askren aims to take down his opponent, Bakhtiyar Abbasov from Azerbaijan in the first round of ONE Fighting Championship's (ONE FC) upcoming bout in Singapore, this May 30th.

"I take a lot of my opponents down so I'm going to use that in May 30th... take him down and hope I'll be able to finish the fight in the first round," said the determined 29-year-old American wrestler after his open workout session in Merican Muay Thai Gym recently.

Askren who was on an Asian promotional tour, went to five cities starting from Manila, to Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Phnon Penh and finally, Singapore.

Speaking to Astro AWANI, he said he is really excited about his debut in ONE FC especially in front of his Asian fans.

Commenting on the differences between Bellator fighters and the Asian fighters in ONE FC, Askren said he doesn't see a huge difference between the two except that Bellator has a lot of wrestlers.

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Askren demonstrating some of his ground skills during his open workout in Petaling Jaya.

Askren is also expected to display some high-level wrestling skill in front of the crowd in Singapore in his upcoming fight to bring some 'freshness' into the event.

All in all, Askren is very confident of his chances in winning the fight between Abbasov as he plans to use his wrestling and takedown abilities to control his opponent.

Besides Bellator, he is also a two-time NCAA Division-1 champion, well known for his wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA), and has been making huge waves in Asia since signing with ONE FC - Asia’s largest Mixed Martial Arts organization.

Promo video for ONE FC: Honor and Glory (credits to ONE FC)

According to ONE FC, the response to the tour was 'phenomenal' as media from the top publications in each country attended his open workout to find out more about him and his preparation for his upcoming fight.

During the open workout sessions, Askren demonstrated some of his famous wrestling and ground skills before speaking to members of the press.

“I am super excited to be making my ONE FC debut at the end of this month in Singapore. MMA is growing so rapidly in Asia and so it’s really fantastic to be able to fight here. I have been training really hard and I can’t wait to be back in the cage to put on a fantastic fight for my fans,” said Askren commenting on his debut with ONE FC.

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Askren posing for the media during his recent open workout session at Merican Muay Thai Gym.

Askren who has a record of 12 wins (12-0) will make his ONE FC debut in Singapore this 30 May in ONE FC: HONOR & GLORY and the Olympian is eager to impress with his strong wrestling background.