Former Bellator MMA welterweight champion Ben Askren confirmed he has signed a deal with ONE FC.
On Monday, Askren told The MMA Hour he signed a two-year, six-fight deal with the Singapore-based organization and is expected to make his promotional debut in March or April.
Askren (12-0) was released by Bellator in November despite going 9-0 in the promotion and defending his title four times.
“I’ve said it many times, Ben’s a completely one-dimensional fighter who is utterly dominant in that dimension,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a press release at the time. “I had a number of discussions with Ben, and it became clear it was time for both parties to move in different directions. We’ve relinquished any right to match here, and Ben can sign with whoever he chooses to sign with. Ben’s been at Bellator since the start of his career. I respect him and what he’s accomplished and wish him the best wherever he goes.”
It was believed the 2008 Olympian in freestyle wrestling would be signed by the UFC following his Bellator release, though UFC president Dana White was not interested in his services.
Askren holds wins over the likes of former Maximum Fighting Championship welterweight kingpin Douglas Lima and UFC veteran Jay Hieron.
ONE FC, Asia’s largest MMA organization, debuted in September 2011 and has been developing a talented roster of fighters. Vancouver’s Bibiano Fernandes is the promotion’s bantamweight champion, while former Pride, Dream and Shooto star Shinya Aoki holds the featherweight title.
Former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver, current UFC fighters Rustam Khabilov and Tatsuya Kawajiri, plus notable MMA stars Roger Huerta, Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Phil Baroni competed for ONE FC in the past.
