Unbeaten Ben Askren puts streak, ONE title on line vs. Luis Santos at ONE: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS
By Dana Becker
Luis Santos has been given the opportunity of a lifetime at ONE: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS. Santos will headline the 24 April 2015 card from the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines against one of the best fighters in the world, current ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren.
The fight is the main event to a stacked card that also includes Mark Striegl vs. Casey Suire and Anatpong Bunrad vs. Geje Eustaquio. Askren (14-0) is in a small group of fighters who sport unbeaten records and hold a major championship, as he won the ONE Welterweight World Title in 2014 with a first round technical knockout of Nobutatsu Suzuki at ONE: REIGN OF CHAMPIONS.
Following a collegiate wrestling career for the University of Missouri that resulted in two NCAA Div. I national championships and two Dan Hodge Trophies for being the most outstanding wrestler, Askren continued to ply his trade on the mats for the United States Olympic Team.
He competed for Team USA at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, going 1-1 with a win over Istvan Vereb and a loss to Ivan Fundora. Fundora placed fifth that year after winning bronze in 2004. Askren took the path of many previous greats from the sport of wrestling, making his MMA debut in 2009 with a first round TKO. A string of three straight submissions followed, including in his Bellator debut in 2010 over Ryan Thomas.
With his history and resume, Askren was placed directly into a tournament to crown a top contender to the title, which he promptly mowed through before taking out Lyman Good in 2010 and winning the title. Following four title defenses, including one over current Bellator champion Douglas Lima, Askren signed on with ONE to further test his skills against the best of the best. In 2014, he submitted Bakhtiyar Abbasov with an arm-triangle choke that he locked up in just over four minutes, before stopping Suzuki in only 84 seconds.
Santos (61-9-1) is one of the most experienced and battle-tested fighters you will find anywhere. He's been inside the cage with the likes of Ryan Ford, Shamar Bailey, Ben Saunders, Adriano Martins, Ildemar Alcantara and Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Santos won his first 12 fights via either knockout or submission, and went 21-2 to start his career. He didn't go the distance in a fight until his 27th professional bout, avenging a previous loss to Alcantara in 2005.
That win over the UFC fighter was part of a 12-fight win streak, as he followed up a 2006 loss to Yoshida by winning his next seven in a row. Since 2013, Santos has won seven straight, including a 2014 first round TKO over Abbasov at ONE: BATTLE OF THE LIONS to secure his shot at Askren. Of his 61 career victories, 35 have been knockouts and 12 have been submission wins. Santos holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Santos is married to fellow fighter Carina Damm, who compiled a 22-11 record of her own, which gives the two easily the most MMA fights by a married couple.
ONE: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS is happening on 24 April 24 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. Tickets are available now here. Global fans can catch the event ‘live’ at www.onefc.com/livestream