ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong makes bold prediction for Ben Askren’s run in the UFC

Former ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren is now headed to the UFC — though the promotion has not officially announced his arrival just yet.

Askren’s long-awaited migration to the Octagon was made possible by a history-making trade between ONE and the UFC that saw the UFC cough up its former flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson in exchange for the former ONE welterweight king.

While Askren’s move to the UFC has been met with widespread fan excitement, there is certainly no guarantee it’ll go as he’s hoping. For all of his undeniable talent, Askren must now contend with a murderer’s row composed of fighters like Colby Covington, Darren Till, Kamaru Usman, Rafael dos Anjos, Stephen Thompson and Robbie Lawler. In other words, he’s in for some really tough fights.

Nonetheless, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong feels that his former welterweight champion Ben Askren will run through the UFC welterweight division with ease and dominance. Like a hot knife through butter, to be more specific.

https://twitter.com/YODCHATRI/status/1057306159185424385

“I believe [Ben Askren] is going to run through the best UFC welterweights like a hot knife in butter,” Sityodtong said.

Ben Askren (18-0) last fought in November of 2017, when he scored a TKO win over Shinya Aoki in a superfight that was supposed to serve as the last bout of his career. With this win, he improved to 6-0 in ONE Championship, building on a legendary run as Bellator’s welterweight champion. Over the course of his career, he’s defeated names like Aoki, Zebaztian Kadestam, Andrey Koreshkov, Douglas Lima, Jay Hieron and Lyman Good.

How do you think the former ONE Championship welterweight king Ben Askren will perform in the perilous UFC welterweight division?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/30/2018.