Ben Askren is eyeing another title defense this August.
Askren is the reigning ONE Championship welterweight title holder. “Funky” has held the title since August 2014. After successfully retaining his championship against Agilan Thani, Askren wants a bout in Malaysia.
He told Flo Combat that he’d like to put his 170-pound gold on the line against Zebaztian Kadestam:
“My original plan was to beat Thani and then call out Santos to settle that business and then call out Bigdash as well, but after Kadestam knocked him out that took care of him. Bigdash jumped into a rematch with [Aung] La Nsang and Kadestam is healthy so let’s get that because I plan on having a busy year.”
At first, Askren was counting on facing Luis Santos in a rematch, but Kadestam’s knockout win over Santos changed that.
“I had no idea who [Kadestam] was but then he fought in the fight before me and knocked out ‘Sapo’ Santos and that was entertaining because that guy is such a douchebag. That win earned him some instant credibility because they loved the knockout in Asia and he has so momentum so let’s just go ahead with it. Everyone is healthy and let’s get this done.”
