Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam, 26, of Stockholm, Sweden is about to try to steal ONE Championship‘s welterweight championship title from Ben “Funky” Askren, 33, of Hartland, Wisconsin, United States. On September 2, 2017, they will headline “ONE Championship: Shanghai” at Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China.
Kadestam is looking forward to becoming the first person to defeat Askren in a professional MMA bout. The reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion currently holds a clean record of 16 wins, 0 loss and 1 No Contest.
“If you successfully dethrone Askren, who would you like to fight next?” I asked Askren earlier today. The Swedish MMA fighter told me, “Askren is my focus right now.”
“Whatever comes next comes next,” Kadestam continued. I asked him if he thought he was given enough time to prepare for the fight against Askren.
“Yes, I’m satisfied (with the preparation time),” Kadestam replied. “I told ONE right after my (debut) fight I’m ready to go again. I’m ready.”
On May 26, 2017, Kadestam made his ONE Championship debut at “ONE: Dynasty of Heroes” at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. He defeated Luis “Sapo” Santos, 37, of Belem, Para, Brazil via knockout.
In the co-main event of “ONE” Dynasty of Heroes”, Askren successfully defended his title from Agilan “Alligator” Thani, 22, of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The American champion submitted his Malaysia challenger via arm-triangle choke.
After beating Thani, Askren called out Kadestam. It appears that ONE Championship did not need more fights from Kadestam before giving him a title shot.
“ONE Championship: Shanghai” is the first ONE Championship event to be held in Shanghai. Including the title bout between Askren and Kadestam, there are nine matches on the card.
“China is one of our biggest markets and the focus has been to really bring the rich cultural history of martial arts in China to the forefront,””” ONE Championship chairman and chief executive officer Chatri Sityodtong said. “It is a delight to finally announce our inaugural event in the beautiful city of Shanghai.”
CONAN Daily 