Former Olympic wrestler Ben Askren showed the world that he belongs in the sport of mixed-martial-arts by dominating Dan Hornbuckle at Bellator 22 Thursday night to win the Bellator Fighting Championships Season 2 welterweight tournament.
Fighting at the Kansas City Power & Light District in Kansas City, Miss., Askren dominated his opponent throughout all three rounds of their tournament final bout. Having only one year under his belt as a professional mma fighter, Askren looked right at home from the start of the fight by taking Hornbuckle to the mat at will, keeping the fight there through most of the three rounds.
Hornbuckle did have some offensive spurts, he landing a few solid punches in the fight and threatened to take the fight late in the third with a kimura off his back. But Askren proved too much and earned the judges decision easily by a score of 30-27 across the board.
Askren will now face Bellator’s current welterweight champion Lyman Good, and addressed the champ in his post victory comments.
“Lyman, keep my belt warm. Shine it once a week and enjoy it while you’ve got it because it’s mine.”
HT: Bellator.com