By Dustin De La Torre
Bellator Fighting Championships will be venturing outside of the United States for the first time in the promotion’s history as they visit Canada for Bellator 64, this Saturday night at The Caesars in Windsor, Canada. Welterweight champion Ben Askren will be defending his title in a much anticipated fight versus the man that is dubbed, “The Phenom” in Douglas Lima. Askren took time to discuss his upcoming title fight at Bellator 64 with Fight Hub TV and we talked the power Lima posses, fellow Bellator fighters Chris Lazano and Thiago Santos, past fights and his favorite thing to do away from the cage.
FHTV: How is camping going for the Douglas Lima fight?
BA: Camp is going great; I have not stopped training since my last fight where I faced Jay Hieron. I can’t wait to get back into action and defend my belt against Douglas. It has been a long time since I have fought and I am excited to get in there. I am ready to showcase my skills against a tough guy like Douglas Lima.
FHTV: Coming from a wrestling background, does this long lay off bother you?
BA: Yeah I wish I could fight a little more often, the good thing that came about this long lay off was me getting to improve a lot and that is a good thing because it let me get into the gym and work with all my training partners and let me improve a lot.
FHTV: Is Douglas Lima the most dangerous fighter you have ever faced?
BA: He is easily the most dangerous guy I have ever fought. Jay was tough but he does not posses the one punch knockout power like Douglas; Douglas can end a fight at any given moment with a single strike. He is a dangerous guy standing.
FHTV: What do you see as Lima’s strengths and weaknesses?
BA: His knockout power has got to easily be his strength. As far as his weakness, I think he has a lot of weaknesses such as his wrestling, condition and Jiu-Jitsu. I know that if I take him deep into the fight he will fade. I have been a brown belt for awhile and I think I have a clear advantage on the ground; I feel good about my strengths versus his weaknesses.
FHTV: What has training at the Roufusport gym in Milwaukee,WI brought to your game?
BA: Striking, plain and simple; my striking was lacking, since I have arrived here I have been improving at a very fast rate. When I arrived here I felt my grappling was on par with a lot of the people I was fighting against. The main focus has been my striking and I feel much more comfortable in my stand up.
FHTV: What is the game plan for Lima?
BA: I do not want to share too much but I am good at getting guys on the ground and doing my thing there.
FHTV: Looking back at the Jay Hieron fight, what were some things that you could have done differently?
BA: I did not throw enough punches…I need to let my hands go. I do not know why but I just was not throwing punches. My striking needs to be more effective. The only way I could see people thinking I lost was if they had the notion that if we stood Jay would win but I feel like I dominated the whole fight versus Jay.
FHTV: Talk to us about fighters missing weight, specially the Thiago Santos situation? Was it Santos not caring and being unprofessional?
BA: I would say it is a little of both because I heard that he was missing weight the week before and I think they gave him an extra week to make weight and he still missed weight, for a heavyweight making weight is pretty easy with a little diet, there are a lot of heavy weights who look lean at 265, it was very lazy and unprofessional of him.
FHTV: What do you make of Chris Lazano and what he has said about you leading into the tournament? Stating you are “like water and dirt.”
BA: The water and dirt comment is something that I do not understand. I guess he is trying to get at that I am a boring fighter, who knows. What is funny to me he has been attacking me since his first stint in the tournament and he even said that he would “kick my ass” but he can not even make it to the finals. He can keep talking if he wants because he can not even make it to the finals to fight me. It is his way of getting some attention for himself.
FHTV: You are a big fan of disc golf, how did you start playing that?
BA: I got into it in college. My college buddies were playing it so I started playing and I have been hooked since. It is getting warmer here in Milwaukee so I am expecting to play some more, I will probably be out playing the day after the Limafight.
FHTV: What can your fans expect to see from you come fight night?
BA: They can expect to see a much improved fighter out their in the cage that night at Bellator 64 on April 6 in Windsor, Canada. They can also expect me to retain my title that night.
Make sure to catch Bellator 64 live on MTV2 from Windsor, Canada headlined by a Welterweight title fight featuring Ben Askren versus Douglas Lima on April 6th.
