A Bellator welterweight title fight between champion Ben ‘Funky’ Askren (8-0) and Jay ‘The Thoroughbred’ Hieron (22-4) is being targeted for the promotions upcoming Bellator 56 event in Kansas.
Originally, Bellator officials had planned on pitting the two against each other on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Askren’s alma mater.
Now the promotion officials are looking at hosting the event at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas on October 29. MMAjunkie.com confirmed the news with Bellator officials on Thursday.
The two will headline the four-bout main card, which will air on MTV2 in the U.S. and on theScore in Canada. The prelims are expected to stream live on the web at Spike.com.
This match will mark Askren’s first Bellator title defense after winning the belt from former champ Lyman Good by unanimous decision back in October of last year. ‘Funky’ went on to fight once more, beating Nick Thompson by decision in a non-title “Super Fight” at Bellator 40 last April. So far the wrestling standout is undefeated in his pro-career and has won five straight with Bellator.
Hieron was the winner of the Season 5 Welterweight Tournament, earning wins over Anthony Lapsley (technical submission), Brent Weedman (unanimous decision), and Rick Hawn (split decision) to earn a shot at the Askren and the title. ‘The Thoroughbred’ has won ten straight matches, suffering his last loss back in June 2007 at an IFL event to Brad Blackburn. Since then Hieron has gone on to win under the IFL, Affliction, Strikeforce and Bellator promotions.