Askren upends Aleksakhin; two Pinoys triumph

American ONE welterweight world titlist Ben Askren used his topnotch wrestling skills to the hilt to beat Russian Nikolay Aleksakhin via unanimous decision Friday night in the main event of the ONE Championship: Global Rivals at the MOA Arena.

Askren, a former Olympian wrestler, scored multiple takedowns, maintained control of Combat Sambo specialist Aleksakhin on the ground and did damage from a crucifix position en route to winning their five-round Super Fight.

“Not the performance I wanted but champions always find a way to dig deep and get the job done,” said Askren, who kept his MMA record spotless at 15 wins and one no-contest.

The 25-year-old Aleksakhin landed some solid strikes, especially in the third round, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tables around as he absorbed his fourth loss against 17 victories.

Askren’s belt was supposed to be on the line but they instead faced off in a non-title fight as Aleksakhin had problems with the weight.

Local bet Geje Eustaquio of Team Lakay gave the home crowd a lot to cheer about as he dominated young Malaysian Gianni Subba in a three-round bantamweight bout. Eustaquio leaned on his lightning fast kicks and sharp counter-punches to score the unanimous decision victory over Subba.

Meanwhile, Honorio “The Rock” Banario defeated Vaughn “the Spawn” Donayre in an allFilipino lightweight encounter. Banario connected solid rights and controlled ground action to win in all the judges’ scorecard.

Fil-Aussie Reece “Lightning” McLaren outclassed combat sambo world champion Muin “Tajik” Gafurov over three rounds, brandishing impeccable mat and cage control to shut down his opponent in the highly technical contest at bantam.