MMA: Undefeated Askren to 'smash' his opponent in showdown

Mixed martial arts (MMA) welterweight world champion, Ben Askren vows to 'smash' his opponent, Bakhtiar Abbasov in the ONE Fighting Championship’s (ONE FC) bout in Singapore on Friday night.

“I am going to smash him… he doesn’t know it, but that’s going to happen,” said Askren in front of the crowd during the ONE FC’s ‘Honor & Glory’ weighing event at Clarke Quay, Singapore on Thursday night.

He also said that he is excited to be able to compete again and can’t wait to get back into the cage and stamp his mark in Asia.

Askren from the United States will face Abbasov who is a Sambo world champion from Azerbaijan, in the main event clash at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Abbasov, however said he too is going to 'smash' Askren, and that the latter is unlikely to win this fight.

“Ben may have won 12 fights and is undefeated, but this time he is going to lose because this time he is meeting me,” he said.

Abbasov also described this as an opportunity for him to face one of the most talked about fighters in the industry.

Meanwhile, ONE FC announced that all but one fighter had made weight.

Malaysians Nik ‘The Bloodhound’ Harris and Raymond had both made weight in their respective categories.

Below are the weigh-in results for Friday night's showdown:

MAIN EVENT

Welterweight bout: Ben Askren (76.9 kg/ 169.5lbs) VS Bakhtiyar Abbasov (77.1 kg/ 170lbs)

CO-MAIN EVENT

Lightweight bout: Eddie Ng (70 kg/ 154lbs) VS Vincent Latoel (69.7 kg/ 153 lbs)

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MAIN CARD

Featherweight bout: Honorio Banario (65.8 kg/ 145lbs) VS Jadambaa Narantungalag (65.6 kg/ 145lbs)

Lightweight bout: Caros Fodor (70.2 kg/ 155lbs) VS Willy Ni (69.9 kg/ 154lbs)

Featherweight bout: Bruno Pucci (65.2 kg/ 144lbs) VS Major Overall (65.7 kg/ 145lbs)

Heavyweight bout: Alain Ngalani (104 kg/ 229lbs) VS Chi Lewis Parry (110 kg/ 243lbs)

Bantamweight bout: Radeem Rahman (60.7 kg/ 134lbs) VS Raymond Tan (61.2 kg/ 135lbs)

UNDERCARD

Catchweight bout: Brad Robinson (80.4 kg/ 177lbs) VS Nik Harris (78.5 kg/ 173lbs)


Bantamweight bout: Stephen Langdown (60.9 kg / 134.2lbs) VS Casey Suire (61.2 kg / 135lbs)

Fans in Asia can catch all the action live on for ‘Honor & Glory’ on STAR Sports, and also online via live streaming at www.onefc.livesport.tv USD$9.99 (RM32) for fans around the world.