Ben Askren defeated Agilan Thani (Photo/ONE Championship)Ben Askren, two-time NCAA wrestling champ for University of Missouri, successfully defended his ONE Championship welterweight championship with a first-round submission Friday.
Askren got previously unbeaten prospect Agilan Thani to tap out at 2:20 of Round 1 of the co-main event at ONE Championship: Dynasty of Heroes mixed martial arts event in Singapore.
It was the third successful title defense for Askren since winning the ONE Championship title in 2014, and the first for the 2008 Olympian in 13 months.
In its coverage, MMAJunkie.com reported, "Askren did what he does best in the championship contest. He charged toward Thani at the opening bell and immediately put the challenger on his back foot. Askren pursued the takedown until he planted Thani on his back less than a minute into the opening round, and from there, the outcome was inevitable."
"Askren ... immediately closed the distance on his young opponent and secured a quick takedown into side control," reported MMAFighting.com. "Once on the ground, Askren effortlessly floated between positions, trapping the 21-year-old Thani in a crucifix and unloading a flurry of unanswered punches. Thani eventually escaped to his feet, only to be immediately taken back down and drowned under a tight arm-triangle from Askren, which coaxed a tapout at 2:20 of the opening round."
After his successful welterweight title defense, Askren called out ONE middleweight champion Vitaly Bigdash, who previously accepted -- then rejected -- an in-the-cage meeting between the two ONE Championship titleholders.
"We got this guy, Vitaly Bigdash. He agreed to fight me, then he decided it was a bad idea and he didn't want to do that anymore," Askren said. "Bigdash, he ran around like a chicken. So here's the deal: Bigdash, I need a dance partner on Aug 18."
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