By FCF Staff; photo courtesy Bellator FC
Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren will fight before the conclusion of the promotion’s upcoming fourth season, as today the organization announced that he will fight UFC veteran Nick “The Goat” Thomspon, April 9th. The Bellator 40 bout, which will take place at the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma, will be a non-title affair. (Pictured: Askren)
“Ben’s been completely dominant in every fight he’s had under the Bellator banner and Nick has run the MMA gauntlet in his career, fighting everywhere and everyone,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He will be a fantastic test for Ben.”
Askren has gone undefeated since the former Olympian and 2-time NCAA Division I National Wrestling Champion transitioned into MMA in 2009. The 26 year-old fighter defeated Dan Hornbuckle to win Bellator’s welterweight tourney last June, before scoring another unanimous decision over Lyman Good in October, to become the promotion’s welterweight champion.
“I come to fight every single time. Whether you're good or you're bad, I still want to smash you, and it's going to be the same thing when I fight Nick Thompson,” Askren said. “It doesn't matter what his record is, I'm looking to kick his ass.”
Thompson (38-13-1) will be looking to end a three fight losing streak, which has seen him lose to Tim Kennedy, Hornbuckle, and most recently last August, to Taisuke Okuno. From June, 2006, through July, 2008, the 29 year-old vet went undefeated and won 12 straight fights.
“I think the biggest advantage for me in this fight with Ben is the fact that I've fought more than 50 fights,” said Thompson. “I've fought in every organization, I've fought against the best fighters in the world, and I've been ranked in the top ten. Ben hasn't been there. I plan on hitting him like he's never been hit before and I'm excited to find out how he's going to react.”
Bellator 40, like all the events from the promotion’s upcoming season, will be broadcast live on MTV 2.
