Sapo reports corneal injury in fight with Askren and guarantees: 'The belt is mine and he knows it'

Fight between Sapo (left) and Askren (right) ended in no-contest. Photo: Disclosure/ONE FC

The controversial fight between Ben Askren and Luís Sapo, which ended in no-contest at ONE FC, this Friday (24), in the Philippines, brought harsh consequences to the Brazilian fighter. Unable to continue the fight after suffering a poke in the eye in the first round, Sapo reported that he suffered an injury on the spot, but assured that he will defeat the North American and steal the belt from him in the event of a rematch.

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The fight ended even before the end of the first half of the opening round. Until then, Askren saw his takedown attempts being frustrated by Sapo, who, at times, managed to reverse his position and land on top. However, during one of his attempts to impose his wrestling, Askren hit the Brazilian with his thumb in the eye, which ended the fight.

Despite being upset with the situation, Sapo assured that his focus is on winning the Asian organization's title when he is able to fight again. “I dominated him in the fight, in the takedowns. The belt is mine and he knows it. My victory was only postponed”, said Sapo, in an interview with the North American website “MMA Fightihg”. “He scratched my cornea. I won’t be able to train for three weeks,” he continued.

Carina Damm, Sapo's wife and member of the fighter's team, went further and criticized Askren's stance several times. “The doctors were talking to him in the cage and Askren was on top, trying to pull him back into the fight. He wanted Toad to come back hurt so he would have an advantage over him. That was his only chance, in my opinion. Ben Askren was not professional and everyone saw that”, he said, also on “MMA Fighting”.

For her, Sapo's victory was just a matter of time. “I don’t think Ben Askren would make it past the first round. Sapo was going to finish him right there. He trained hard for this and will be the favorite in the rematch. Ben Askren was frustrated that his takedown attempts weren’t working,” she opined.

Despite the controversy, Askren remains undefeated in MMA, now with 14 wins and one no-contest. Sapo already has 61 wins, nine losses, one draw and one fight without result.

Watch the fight between Ben Askren and Luís Sapo below: