Ben Askren plans to remind the world why he’s been one of the most dominant MMA fighters around over the past several years when he competes for the first time in more than 13 months at ONE Championship 55 on Friday.

Due to a steady stream of fight cancellations and postponements, the ONE Championship welterweight titleholder hasn’t seen action since April 2016. He has just one fight in the past 25 months overall, and as a lifelong athlete used to consistent competition, he admits the downtime became frustrating.

“It was tough,” Askren told MMAjunkie. “It was up and down because I did think I was fighting a few times, then it ended up falling through. I was getting ready. I’ve been ready to fight for like nine months. I make a habit of working out, so it’s not a huge deal, but it is kind of frustrating. I’ve tried to occupy myself with other things.”

Askren (15-0) returns to work Friday when he puts his belt on the line for the fourth time against Agilan Thani (7-0) in the ONE Championship 55 co-main event. The card streams via online pay-per-view from Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

Although Thani has six fights under the ONE Championship banner, he is one of the lesser-known opponents Askren has faced in recent years. The 21-year-old has roughly the same amount of life experience as Askren has high-level athletic experience, which would seemingly put him at a giant disadvantage off the bat.

Naturally Askren, No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, believes he’s going to steamroll Thani the way he has the majority of his opponents during his undefeated career. Taking a step out of his own shoes, though, Askren said he can understand ONE Championship’s vision in putting the matchup together.

“I don’t see it as a bad idea because it’s a no-lose for him,” Askren said. “If for some reason he beats me, that’s a big deal for him. If he loses to me, so what? It’s not a big deal. It’s what everyone expected. Then you get to put him on this stage: a big stage, a big fight with lots of viewers very early in his career. I’m sure as a 21-year-old they’re hoping he’s going to be around for a long time. I think it’s kind of a no-lose situation for him.”

Despite being one of the most prominent names on the ONE Championship roster and holding a higher position in the rankings than almost anyone else signed to the promotion, Askren, 32, will not headline an event for just the second time in his more than three-year tenure with the organization.

The only time Askren has not been the main event was at ONE Championship 19 in August 2014 when former lightweight titleholder Shinya Aoki was positioned at the top of the card. Aoki is considered a prominent fighter by most, but this time around Askren takes a backseat to 20-year-old women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee.

Lee, who puts her belt on the line against Istela Nunes, is being pushed by ONE Championship as the next big thing in women’s MMA. Askren said he doesn’t discount her skills, but believes the order of the card is off, given what both champions have contributed to the sport.

“I kind of think it’s a bad thing, but I don’t really care that much,” Askren said. “I think most people would be highly offended by it. Why? Because I’ve put how many years into this sport? When I was winning my Bellator title, she was 12 or something. I put a lot of time into this sport and with these female fighters, they’ve burst on the scene with a bunch of wins really fast. It is a certain way sexist that the women get more attention quickly, if we think about how fast (Ronda) Rousey came up and some of these other women. There’s very few male equivalents.”

Regardless of whether Askren closes the show or not, he said his top priority is to handle business against Thani and extended his undefeated streak to 17 consecutive fights. Entering a fight off a career-long layoff could be a cause for concern for some athletes, but for Askren it’s not something he feels will be a hindrance when he steps in the cage.

Winning fights decisively has been the mantra of Askren’s career, and he doesn’t force that changing now.

“I’m not too worried about it, but I feel that way about all my opponents,” Askren said. “I feel like I’m going to go in there and dominate. I have a very unique style which is very difficult for most people to deal with. I don’t think this is going to be any different.”

For more on “ONE Championship 55: Dynasty of Heroes,” check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.