Former BAMMA champion Scott Askham is determined to show his win over feared Pole Micha? Materla was not a fluke, and hopes to do so in emphatic fashion.
Former BAMMA champ and UFC fighter Scott Askham has been having a blast lately. Despite having some fun performances in the UFC, he was let go from the organization in 2017. From there, he returned to the European circuit has now won his last three fights, two in very impressive fashion.
With a record at 17-4 and being just 30 years of age, Askham made the most of a bad situation and now finds himself in the finals of the KSW middleweight championship, which is currently vacant. It appears he’s finding some new wrinkles in his game, and he’ll hope that this current streak will lead him to another professional championship against a legitimately tough opponent in Micha? Materla.
Victor Rodriguez: You’ve been picking up some wins since your KSW debut, and your perfromances have been, uh… impressive would be an understatement. You’ve put on some fun fights for them so far. I’m really curious about this because I’ve noted you have had — I don’t want to say a change in attitude, necessarily — but you seem like you’re having a lot more fun in your last few fights. Would you say that’s accurate?
Scott Askham: Yeah, my confidence’s been through the roof and my striking gets better, and obviously, the confidence builds. It’s hard not to be comfortable with the way things are going, and I put on a solid, dominant performance over Luke Barnatt, and the momentum just carried on. Materla was such a big favorite in that first fight, and I don’t even remember him landing a strike. I’m just carrying that momentum again into this fight. So yeah, I’m a few days away from a title fight, making my weight now, focusing on that.
VR: Did you imagine that when you signed with KSW you’d be this promptly put in a situation where you’re fighting for a title?
SA: Yeah, of course. Yeah. Especially when I beat Materla, and the way I beat him, with the win streak he had. He had like three-fight win streak over top guys. Rousimar Palhares, Paulo Thiago and another former KSW champion (Antoni Chmielewski), and he’s a former champion himself. I definitely thought I put myself up for the title shot. In reality this rematch will be the first time I fight somebody twice. Obviously, I need to make a statement to… I don’t even want to say to look good, I just need to go out and dominate just like the first time.
VR: You’ve already faced Materla once, do you expect anything to go differently? If so, what expectations for anything to go any different.
SA: The fight probably will go a little bit differently, I’m going in there to land big strikes early on just the same. But I would imagine that he’ll be looking to change things and feel things out. The fight can go better than it did for me last time. To get the performance I got last time, the fight had to be perfect. The fight can go mostly as easy as it did last time. I dominated in that win, I’m ready to go five hard rounds. I’ll be there until the end. The last punch will get the job done. I’ll make sure I win every round.
VR: What would you attribute your recent successes, to? Because you’ve looked great in these fights, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch. As a former champion already in BAMMA, you’re definitely not a stranger to seeing and having an exciting style, and on top of having some fun exchanges in fights you’re doing it against tough opposition.
SA: I mainly would say it’s our coach, Steve Bruno, my striking coach at ATT. I’ve always been a striker, but I’ve gone some time away from my striking and focusing on the rest of the game. I’m still focused on me old game, but I’ve made sure. Every fight I’ve been doing something that’s riling up folks, and the confidence I get through the sparring partners I’ve got, they’re… everything’s just on point.
VR: Last question: How good would it feel to take that belt back to Yorkshire?
SA: It’d be unbelievable. It’d be a great feeling. I plan on stumbling out of the nightclub and calling for a taxi with me belt. I’ve already promised I was going to bring that belt home. Make no mistake I’m taking that belt home.
As usual, KSW’s got some primo promos for the event, and here’s the one for this fight.
KSW 49 takes place this Saturday, starting at 2:00pm EST. This event will be available for purchase via KSW’s site at KSWtv.com for $11.00, and also for sale at FITE.tv for $11.99. You can also watch the event over at DAZN with a membership.