58 Days Out: Ben Askren Vs Douglas Lima Booked For Bellator 64

Since we flipped the calender to 2012, the UFC has dominated North American MMA headlines, already having put on two numbered PPV events plus two more on free television. The Strikeforce show in early January came and went with little fanfare, aside from a positive steroid test by "King" Mo Lawal. The other major North American promotion, Bellator Fighting Championships, has been fairly quiet, with their first show of the year still a month away.

Some big news came down the line yesterday though, as the organizations biggest star, welterweight champion Ben Askren, has a time and place for his next championship defense: Bellator 64 will be held on April 6th, in Windsor, Ontario. Askren will be defending the belt against season five tournament winner Douglas Lima.

One of the reasons that I do fight announcements in this format, (XX Days Out) is to bring attention to the length of time the fighters will have to prepare for each other. It seems that the average training camp for a mixed martial arts fight is between 8-12 weeks, or 60-90 days. The UFC books their shows well in advance, so they almost always give fighters a maximum amount of time to prepare, with short notice fights occuring only when an injury takes place. Strikeforce and Bellator have not been nearly as accomodating to fighters in this respect and this is my first chance to document it. (With this particular fight, it's not really relevant, since Askren knew he would be fighting Lima since November, when Lima won the tournament. But that is not always the case with Bellator fights.)

Ben Askren is 6-0 in Bellator competition, winning the second season welterweight tournament. In his last fight, against UFC veteran Jay Hieron, he won a very close decision. Lima is 3-0 in Bellator, with all his fights coming in the season five tournament. His last victory was also over a UFC veteran in Ben Saunders.

Askren is the 15th ranked welterweight in the world. He fights out of Roufusport.
Lima is the 24th ranked welterweight in the world. He fights out of American Top Team Atlanta.

Bellator 64:

Ben Askren vs Douglas Lima. Welterweight Title Fight