It’s going to be the Cold War all over again when Russian Nikolay Aleksakhin meets American Ben Askren in ONE: GLOBAL RIVALS, set to rock Manila on Friday, April 15 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Askren and Aleksakhin have never faced each other but there is no love lost between the two. Aleksakhin has described his opponent as a one-dimensional fighter in the MMA cage.

Askren is a wrestling champion and Olympian who represented the United States in Beijng in 2008, and has been undefeated in 14 bouts ever since he transitioned to MMA.

Still, the Russian says wrestling is Askren’s “one and only strength”. “He is a boring fighter to watch, with a very weak striking technique. I would like to play on that. I am a showman, I like exciting fighters and want to win beautifully,” added Aleksakhin.