Ben Askren has been patiently waiting to resume his reign atop ONE Championship's welterweight division and that wait is finally over.

The undefeated king of the Asia-based promotion's 170-pound collective will return to the cage against Agilan Thani in the co-main event of ONE: Dynasty of Heroes next Saturday in Singapore. The bout will stream live on FloCombat, and marks the first time in more than a year Askren will be allowed to resume his face punching talents. Although a year on the shelf isn't ideal by any measure, there has been no shortage of effort to change those tides on the "Funky" one's behalf.

Furthermore, Askren's obstacles haven't been limited to what will be waiting for him inside the cage as the friendly skies offered some fight before the fight in a non-United sense of the phrase.

"I was supposed to leave yesterday but apparently there is some rule where your passport has to be valid six months beyond when you travel," Askren said. "I'd never heard of that at all. My passport is valid until September and it wouldn't let me print my boarding pass on Sunday night for a Monday flight and I was like, 'What the &*$%?'

"I called over there and they said my passport was still valid for another six months, but come on...if you aren't going to let me use it then how valid is it really? I had to change my flight and update my passport, but that is what it is and I'm ready to fight."


Turbulence in the travel department asie, the past year has seen no shortage of pushing, poking and numerous open challenges issued across social media during his absence as Askren worked diligently to find an opponent. Askren is so game and confident in his skill set, the former two-time NCAA Div I national champion wrestler attempted to challenge ONE middleweight title holder Vitaly Bigdash, but the clash of champions never materialized.

He also jockeyed for a rematch with Luis "Sapo" Santos because of the frayed history between the two, but that also fell to the wayside.

"I guess finding guys to fight me is a problem because these other guys won't sign," Askren said. "I've been saying it publicly and neither of them are going against my statements so I have to assume ONE is telling me the truth."

Despite the struggles to find a matchup, the Milwaukee native is simply excited to get back to the spotlight and plans to maul the young upstart without mercy. Askren is a competitor born and bred and says there is nothing Thani can do that will save him from getting smashed on May 26 in Singapore.

How to Watch ONE: Dynasty of Heroes

On TV: Now Available on Roku and Apple TV 4--download the FloSports app now.
STREAMING: Only on FloCombat in North America with a PRO subscription. A yearly PRO subscription provides access to ALL FloSports sites.

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"It feels really good to finally fight because I've been waiting awhile and I've been ready," Askren said. "It's great to know I'm getting back into the cage.

"It's a competition and that's what I love. My preparation is always the same way. Although most people think [Thani] is not very good, and he's young and untested; my preparation is always the same. To be honest my preparation has been pretty much the same very every single one of my fights. I work hard and believe in the work I put in. I'm excited to step in there and kick his butt."

In Askren's mind the past should stay right where it is, and the future should be all about making sure previous situations do not repeat. The former Olympic wrestler wasn't necessarily thrilled he was forced to sit on the sidelines for a lengthy stint, and is determined to make sure that will not be the case going forward.

Askren plans to make lopsided work out of his upcoming challenger then keep the momentum rolling under the ONE banner. He doesn't care who, what or where the next fight after his current fight takes place, the only thing that matters for Askren is staying busy.

At 32 years of age Askren is still very much in the prime of his career with the potential for several more years of competition there for the taking. Yet, the wrestling phenom has been outspoken in past interviews with FloCombat about his eventual exit strategy and giving the wildly successful wrestling academy he runs with his brother Max his focus in full.

Related: Finding Ben Askren

With numerous titles collected and what could potentially be a career started and finished without suffering a single blemish, Askren's ability to achieve consistency in a chaotic and unpredictable sport will be a cornerstone of his legacy once his fighting days have come to an end.

Until that day comes, Askren has every intention of kicking more ass and taking more names.

[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BK9eLvShQ2_/?taken-by=benaskren" hide_caption="0"]

"Everything is about consistency," Askren explained. "My dieting, training and lifting are all the same and it's the way for a reason. Inconsistent behavior leads to inconsistent results. I just posted something about this on Facebook for Mental Mother's Day, which is a take on the Mental Mondays I post on AWA's [Askren Wrestling Academy] page at the start of each week.  

"My mother just ran for 500 days in a row and she did it living in Wisconsin where the weather gets awful in the winter. But that's consistency right there and it's been a hallmark of mine throughout my entire athletic career.

"I don't have anything to prove to myself whatsoever," he added. "Maybe I would have something to prove to other people but I don't really care about them anyway so the answer is no. I'm just going to get in there and keep winning. That's what I've always done and that's what i'm always going to do."

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