Ben Askren has been beating all his opponents throughout his career to establish himself as arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. But despite running up a 13-0 record, the collegiate wrestling star refuses to be complacent and is constantly setting himself new targets.

The 30-year-old American from the ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) feels that it is not enough to keep winning fights to prove he is the best in the world. He needs to finish them and that is something which he has started doing regularly, stopping his last three opponents.

Askren takes pleasure in controlling opponents from start to finish but is determined to continue conducting his business without the involvement of judges.

“My goal is to dominate the fight however that happens but I have been figuring out better ways to do damage and become more effective in my submissions. I think this streak will continue,” he said.

Those are ominous words for Nobutatsu Suzuki who is facing Askren at ONE FC: REIGN OF CHAMPIONS at Dubai on 29 August and will be the first time that Asia’s biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion has held an event in the Middle East.

Not to be underestimated, Suzuki is a karate expert who also has a happy habit of finishing fights but Askren says he is not intimidated by his opponent’s striking prowess.

“I have one of the best striking coaches in MMA in Duke Roufus, plus I work with the Muay Thai world champions at Evolve MMA in Singapore. Suzuki wouldn’t last a round against one of those guys in a striking match so I think I am ready for any striking style,” he added.

Askren will be arriving in Singapore any day now to conduct his full training camp for the fight with Suzuki and says he is looking forward to working with Shinya Aoki for the first time.

“This is the first time we both have fight camps booked at the same time and we have very different styles of grappling so it will be interesting to compare notes. There are so many Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belts at Evolve MMA that I learn something different every time I walk through the door.”

Suzuki is renowned for his knee strikes which could present a problem to a top calibre wrestler like Askren but the two-time NCAA Division One Champion and US Olympian says his takedowns are unstoppable.

“I have always been training to be unpredictable in my takedowns, because if I am unpredictable then there is no way he will be able to land his knees and it helps to have a great wrestling coach like Heath Sims to work with every day at Evolve MMA.”

If Suzuki thinks he can use his knees to counter Askren’s takedowns then the American has some words of warning for him: "I plan on grabbing him and throwing him on the ground. I am durable so if he knees me it will probably just make me mad.”

It will be Askren’s second time fighting for ONE FC and he says that any doubts he might have had about signing with Asia’s biggest MMA promotion were assuaged when he saw the size of the sold out crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. “I had a great time in my debut. ONE FC is a very professional organization, the stadium was packed and I kicked butt. It could not have gone any better.”

Askren will be hoping for similar success on his second ONE FC outing and if he can defeat Suzuki as emphatically as he dispatched Bakhtyar Abbasov then he will be heading back to Evolve MMA in Singapore with a brand new belt around his waist.

ONE FC: REIGN OF CHAMPIONS will be held on 29 August at Dubai World Trade Centre. Fight fans can watch the entire event online through LiveSport.tv (click here for access) for just $9.99.