SHANGHAI, CHINA — The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), recently held the ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI Official Face-Off, featuring main event combatants ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren of the United States and challenger Zebaztian Kadestam of Sweden. The two martial artists squared off in front of media at the Char Bar at the Hotel Indigo Shanghai on The Bund, Thursday, 31 August in Shanghai, China.
Ben Askren, ONE Welterweight World Champion, stated: “In this sport, it’s you against the other guy. You make or break your own destiny. I want to be in control of the outcome at all times. Being a champion goes far beyond just wearing that gold belt around my waist. It is also about how you carry yourself as champion, and how you inspire others with the way you train and compete. Kadestam is a tough guy, he showed that in his last bout. But it doesn’t matter what his strengths and weaknesses are. At the end of the day, he can’t stop my wrestling. He’s going to be on his back, and I’m going to be pounding away until the referee stops the contest.”
Zebaztian Kadestam, ONE world title challenger, stated: “I always enjoy a good battle between two martial artists testing themselves. Ben Askren is one of the best martial artists in the world, and this is the reason I chose to come to ONE Championship, for an opportunity to test myself against the absolute best. Martial arts is my life and I believe I am going to be a martial artist until the day I die. Nothing is going to take me away from this. I am coming into the cage with everything I have. You can expect the best version of Zebaztian Kadestam when I step onto that battlefield.”
A former NCAA Division I All-American, Ben “Funky” Askren of the United States is a collegiate wrestling legend and a US Olympian who represented the nation at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He is universally recognized as one of the finest martial artists in the world today. Askren joined ONE Championship in 2014, winning the ONE Welterweight World Championship in just his second bout. Askren has since successfully defended the title twice, including his most recent victory, a first-round submission of young Malaysian star Agilan Thani in May. Sporting an unblemished 16-0 professional record, Askren seeks to continue his reign as champion, this time against Zebaztian Kadestam.
Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam of Sweden holds an outstanding professional record of 9-3, and is a tremendous competitor with a wide array of striking and grappling techniques. Seven of his nine career victories have come by way of knockout. Kadestam made a successful ONE Championship debut last May when he defeated Luis Santos, upsetting the top welterweight contender via a come-from-behind third-round knockout. Kadestam’s resounding victory quickly earned him a title opportunity, as he is now booked to face the toughest opponent of his career in Ben Askren.
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