By The Funky Numbers: Ben Askren

The Funky One

With the ONE Championship: Shanghai MMA event set to take place this weekend, it makes sense for us to share some tidbits about the reigning, defending ONE Welterweight World Champion.



Ben "Funky" Askren has made an impact in the mixed martial arts scene, especially at ONE Championship, where he is the reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion.

Said impact came immediately from his May 2014 ONE debut, forcing Bakhtiyar Abbasov to tap with an arm-triangle choke, then defeating Nobutatsu Suzuki three months later to snap up the title.

His latest title defense saw him force Agilan Thani to tap in the first round this past May, and fans will not take long to wait for the next one, as he will face Zebaztian Kadestam in the main event at ONE Championship: Shanghai on September 2.

But while waiting for that day to come, check out these interesting tidbits on the champ:

Askren has never lost a title fight in almost seven years. He had been the Bellator welterweight champion for three years; dethroning Lyman Good in October 2010 until the title was vacated when he was released in November 2013. That streak continued when he defeated Suzuki in August 2014 and it still continues until today.

On that streak, Ben says, "I've held two belts. I've never lost them, and I've held them for a combined six years, which is a very, very long championship reign by anyone's account."

He currently totes a 16-0 record, with one no-contest, on the road to becoming the current ONE Welterweight World Champion, all while working on the transition to becoming skilled in mixed marital arts, tacking on some grappling onto his skillset. Those wins include five via submission and four via knockout.

On that record, Ben explains, "16 is the number of times I've stepped in the cage, and I've never taken a loss. I think I am one of the best in the world, and I think it also says a lot about the consistency I bring. I bring a great performance every single time I step in the cage."

Before diving into mixed martial arts, Askren is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, and also had the chance to represent the United States in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He toted an 87-match winning streak in a career that finished with a 153-8 record. 91 of those wins came via pins, which puts him third all-time in the NCAA Division I record books.

Ben believes that wrestling is the most important element when mastering mixed martial arts, noting that "If you are going to ask a lot of the mixed martial artists, they're going to say that wrestling is the number one martial art to learn.

He has traveled far and wide to showcase those talents in ONE Championship events, logging in 108,000 kilometers all across Asia. Ben says, "I really enjoy traveling. My trips to Asia have been a pleasure for me. I always enjoy seeing new cultures and learning new things."

And that latest journey will be to Shanghai, where he will be facing "The Bandit" at ONE Championship: Shanghai on September 2 at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center.

For further details about this and other important news on ONE Championship, do check out www.onefc.com.