5 Lessons Learned From ONE FC 19

1. Ben Askren: Bellator And The UFC's Loss Is ONE FC's Gain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j_VqdLZ7vw Ben Askren was allowed to walk away from Bellator, the number two MMA promotion in the world, because the promotion didn't want to give him a raise when all he did was dominate their welterweight division with a boring, wrestling based fight style. It didn't help that then-CEO Bjorn Rebney didn't seem to be a big fan of the man. Ben Askren wasn't signed by the UFC when he became a free agent after finishing his contract with Bellator as an undefeated welterweight champion because they didn't want to legitimize their competition by signing him directly to their ranks, so they suggested he sign with the WSOF and take a few fights there. Plus, they weren't big fans of his fighting style. Oh, and it didn't help that president Dana White didn't seem to be a big fan of the man. Today, Ben Askren is a consensus top ten welterweight, the highest ranked fighter in the division outside of the UFC. He remains undefeated in his professional MMA career. And he has obtained gold once again, today winning the ONE FC welterweight championship in a sound drubbing of Nobutatsu Suzuki at ONE FC 19. After his debut in ONE FC he called out Suzuki, saying he could give him in the belt, or he would come take it. Well, he took it, walking straight up to Suzuki, avoiding a knee, taking him known, and delivering punch after punch while the reigning champ covered up and tried to escape. He couldn't. Both these promotions should have been climbing over each other to sign Askren, and the fact that he is in ONE FC is the result of egos and drama, not his actual market value. Yes, Askren has a boring fight style, and no knockout power, but he does finish fights via submissions and TKOs (as was the case today), and he knows how to promote. He's good on the mic. He's willing to sell fights. You know who else had a boring fight style but was a great self-promoter? Chael Sonnen, and look where it got him. With Askren, you've got the self-promotion (maybe not as good as Chael, but still good) on a guy who now has belts in two of the top four MMA promotions in the world - and no one has been able to beat him yet. Bellator and the UFC's loss is ONE FC's absolutely huge gain.