Ben Askren's ground game upset a local Kansas City anchorman. | Photo: Keith Mills
Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren (www.twitter.com/BenAskren) will blog his thoughts and experiences for Sherdog.com as he prepares to defend his 170-pound title against Season 4 tournament winner Jay Hieron at Bellator 56 in Kansas City, Kan. Bellator 56 takes place this Saturday, Oct. 29, on MTV2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Thursday, I had to do a bunch of media stuff; no one really likes to do it but it is a part of the job, and I did it with a smile on my face. My weight was great -- only 179 when I started my weight cut. For the first workout, I grappled with one of my corners and friends Alan Belcher for 25 minutes and got a good sweat going. Then I threw on the plastics and sweats and hit some mitts for about 20 minutes. Even with all the extra clothes on I still felt strangely crisp with my combinations. I ended up losing four-and-a-half pounds and rewarded myself with a small dinner.
Friday morning I had to do another interview, however this one turned out to be strangely entertaining. It was a live TV interview for the local Fox affiliate, and at the end of it the newscaster requested that I show him a technique to use on one of his counterparts. I asked what kind of technique he wanted, so he said no chokes. Naturally, I suggest a simple armbar and I made him get on the ground and slapped it on. Here is a link to the video if you want to see for yourself.
Well, what you didn't see is that after the video, the dude was really upset. He didn't even say goodbye to us, even though everyone else was laughing. I couldn't imagine my weak armbar hurting him, but he sure was upset.
After the interview it was off to make weight, so I grabbed Alan and Coach Cush. I ended up only having to cut four pounds, which has been my smallest final cut in all of my fights. I ran and hit the sauna and the weight came off relatively easily.
We headed to the weigh-in, at I ended up giving Jay my best mean mug. I don't think he really liked it, but frankly I don't think there is a lot he can do about it. Then it was off to rehydrate and get some grub. I don't really like eating a lot right after the weigh-in, makes me feel like crap, so I try to just drink a lot of fluids at first. However, afterward, I get one of my favorite restaurants, Buca di Beppo, to grab a nice big dinner.
Saturday morning means I hit a solid workout in the morning to get my blood flowing, then head out for a nice relaxing round of disc golf at the Water Works disc course. Then, the best part of the day comes when I finally get to get back in the cage after six months and three weeks.
Hope that entertained you. Oh, and if you want to keep up with me, follow me at @BenAskren on Twitter, too.