CHICAGO – Tywan Claxton is proud of his wrestling background and believes the sport has received a promising boost ahead of his fight at Bellator 221.
Claxton (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), who meets James Bennett (4-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a featherweight bout on Saturday at Bellator 221, said he was happy to see UFC contender Ben Askren go back to his wrestling roots recently for a match with Olympic gold medalist and all-time great Jordan Burroughs. The former Bellator champ may have lost by technical fall after a shutdown on points, but Claxton prefers to look at the upside, he said.
“Burroughs whooped his ass, but there’s levels to everything,” Claxton told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Bellator 221 media day. “Askren knew what was going to happen to him. He’s not an idiot, he’s a smart guy. But he’s also an ambassador for the sport of wrestling. He knew damn well he didn’t have a chance against Jordan Burroughs. I knew it, anyone who knows wresting knew it. But the amount of MMA fans he brought over to just pure wrestling, the wrestling community, that’s great marketing. It was a great marketing scheme.
“You get the guy who talks a lot to say, ‘I’m going to come over here and I’m going to beat the brakes off the best wrestler.’ How many people are going to go watch? Everyone wanted to watch him get his ass whooped when they watched it, and anyone who thought he was going to win watched it. And guess who won at the end? The sport of wrestling won in the end. I think it was a great match and a great event and Askren did a lot for the sport of wrestling doing that.”
One of the things that came out of the Askren vs. Burroughs match is that Burroughs has an interest in competing MMA at some point. He is currently working toward making a run in the 2020 Olympic Games, but he said he carries interest in having just one fight to experience what it’s like.
UFC President Dana White has since said he would be “very interested” in bringing Burroughs to the octagon, and Claxton said he’s sending an invite over on behalf of Bellator, as well.
“If he want it, that’s the money fight,” Claxton said. “Flying knee vs. double leg, set it up Scott (Coker). He won’t be able to outwrestle me realistic inside of a cage. I don’t think that double leg will work. I’d take that fight. Whatever weight he want. It’s at the zeroes, the number at the end of my check. That’s the only weight that matters. Let me know.”
Claxton has more realistic matters to focus on now, though, and that includes his fight at Bellator 221, which takes place at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
If Claxton should emerge victorious at Bellator 221, he said he hopes his future will hold a spot in the Bellator featherweight grand prix, which is expected to kick off later this year. “Speedy” said he hopes a big finish will solidify his spot.
“I have to go out there and get a finish. I want to go out there and get a finish, I will go out there and get a finish, and I’m going to dominate him. … I better be in that tournament. If there’s $1 million, I need to be in that tournament, say no more. I’m ready for it – anybody that they can bring in, anybody that’s in this weight class.”
For more on Bellator 221, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
