‘I am going to punch you until the referee tells me to stop’: Ben Askren’s warning ahead of his One Championship title fight

“This is how it goes,” says the man also known as Funky. “When we fight, first they’ll lock the cage door. The referee will say ‘fight’. I’m going to walk across the ring and I’m going to grab you. I’m going to throw you on your back and I am going to punch you until the referee tells me to stop. And that’s it. Over.”

Take that as less a warning and more a statement of intent from the American as he prepares to put his belt on the line in the co-main event against Malaysian Agilan “Alligator” Thani on the One: Dynasty of Heroes card in Singapore next Friday night.

“I feel just the same as I have before every fight I have had – great,” says the 32-year-old, caught at home in Wisconsin before making the flight to Asia. “I’ve been working hard and now it’s just a matter of fine-tuning. I’ll get there, I’ll rest a bit, and I’m ready.”

Askren has established himself among the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet thanks to an MMA record that currently stands at 15-0, with one no contest.

He brought a lauded wrestling career with him to the sport, having been named a NCAA Division I All-American while at the University of Missouri, before heading to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Since signing on with the Singapore-based One organisation at the end of 2013, he’s been pretty much untouchable, too, lighting up the cage with three victories.