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Ben “Funky” Askren - Photo Credit: ONE Championship

ONE Championship has today announced a blockbuster bout pitting reigning welterweight champion Ben “Funky” Askren against rising young Malaysian star Agilan “Alligator” Thani.

The contest will serve as the co-main event of the Asian promotions ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES card which takes places at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, May 26, 2017, and will see Asken (15-0-1) look to extend the 8-year, unbeaten start to his mixed martial arts career.

During this unbeaten run, the 32-year old who is also a former Bellator welterweight champion has bested the likes of Douglas Lima, current Cage Warriors champion Karl Amoussou and most recently Nikolay Aleksakhin at ONE Championship 41 in April 2016 to cement his status as one of the world’s top 170 pounders.   

Thani (7-0) has finished all of his opponents to date, with five of those victories coming in the opening round and the 21-year old makes his return to action, following a spectacular submission victory over veteran Jeff Huang at ONE Throne of Tigers earning himself a shot at Askren’s welterweight title.

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “We are excited to announce that ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren is back and he’s ready to welcome the young Agilan Thani to the upper echelon of the division. It is going to be an awesome showdown of youth versus experience, on a night fans will not want to miss. Get ready for an evening of non-stop MMA action ready to hit you live in Singapore!”

The card is headlined by defending women’s atomweight world champion Angela “Unstoppable” Lee taking on Brazilian challenger Istela Nunes.

MMA Plus will bring you up to date news on this event as we get it.