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Bellator MMA will head to New Mexico on July 31, and will be bringing welterweight champion Ben Askren with them.

The card, which will go down from the Santa Ana Star Center, will boast Askren defending his belt against Andrey Koreshkov and the finals in the welterweight tournament between Douglas Lima and Ben Saunders.

“I’ll be 110% ready for this fight,” Koreshkov said. “I’ll make sure that Askren’s tactics to put everybody in the audience to sleep won’t work this time. Instead, I’ll keep everybody entertained by putting him to sleep.”

Askren is a perfect 11-0 in his career and is a former U.S. Olympian. Koreshkov finished 2012 with a 5-0 record, including three tournament wins to earn the shot.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back into that cage and putting on a show,” Askren said. “I feel like I’ve continued to mature and get better in every one of my fights, and July 31st should be no different. I don’t think Andrey has any ability to stop my wrestling and ground attack, so this will be another successful title defense.”

Another bout announced features Patricio Pitbull against Rob Emerson in the featherweight division. As always, the main card will air on Spike TV, while the prelims are streamed.

While at Missouri, Ben Askren won a pair of NCAA wrestling titles.

Now, he is the Bellator welterweight champion of the world, and he still follows the sport of wrestling closely.

Askren recently posted a video talking about his predictions for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, which conclude this Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.

Recently on Twitter, Ben Askren sparked an exchange with Michael Bisping that led to some name calling and questioning of each other in terms of overall skill.

Askren, who works with Bisping’s next opponent, Alan Belcher, made sure to let “The Count” know that he will be in trouble next month when he steps inside the Octagon.

And Bisping, as you might expect, had some comments to make concerning Askren’s hair, his promotion (Bellator) and other subject matters.

During a recent interview with BJPenn.com, the current Bellator welterweight champion was asked about the feud.

I’m not too worried about it. I’m pretty secure in my skill set and I know how good I am. So when he goes (to questioning my talents) it doesn’t even bother me.

Askren did offer some praise for Bisping, saying he “actually has pretty decent wrestling defense. He’s kind of annoying to hold down.”

As you might expect, Askren picked “The Talent” to finish off Bisping standing.

With both Belcher and Bisping coming off defeats, a second consecutive loss could spell doom for that fighter in hopes of competing for the UFC middleweight title in the near future.

Askren’s next fight is currently unscheduled, though he knows the opponent, as Andrey Koreshkov claimed a future title shot by winning a recent Bellator tournament.

Ben Askren earned a TKO victory over Karl Amoussou in the main event of Bellator 86 Thursday night, securing another successful title defense of his welterweight crown.

Askren battered Amoussou, with the cageside doctor ruling Amoussou no longer fit to continue due to a cut above his eye.

Also, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal made his Bellator debut, as the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion earned a knockout victory over Przemyslaw Mysiala in an opening round light heavyweight tournament contest.

MAIN CARD

Ben Askren def. Karl Amoussou via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 3, 5:00 to retain Bellator MMA welterweight title

Muhammed Lawal def. Przemyslaw Mysiala via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:52 – light-heavyweight tourney opening round

Douglas Lima def. Michail Tsarev via TKO (leg kicks) – Round 2, 1:44 – welterweight tourney opening round

Ben Saunders def. Koffi Adzitso via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – welterweight tourney opening round

PRELIMINARY CARD

Mike Maldonado vs. Jospeh Salas (bout canceled due to time constraints)

Hunter Tucker def. Javier Obregon via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:17

Jason Sampson def. Chris Pham via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 4:55

Brent Weedman def. Marius Zaromskis via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

Raul Amaya def. Jose Gomes via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:12

Damon Jackson def. Zach Church via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:43

Cortez Coleman def. Matt Jones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bellator MMA returns to Spike TV for a second straight week with Bellator 86 Thursday night. The main event will see Ben Askren defend his Bellator welterweight title against Karl Amoussou.

The weigh-ins for the event took place earlier today. All the fighters who took to the scale made weight, including former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

The main card, which takes place from the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, airs live on Spike TV. The prelims stream live on Spike.com. Below are the complete weigh-in results:

MAIN CARD

Bellator Welterweight Championship Fight: Ben Askren (169.8) vs. Karl Amoussou (167.4)

Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Przemyslaw Mysiala (205.6) vs. King Mo (205.0)

Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Douglas Lima (170.6) vs. Michail Tsarev (170.0)

Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Koffie Adzitso (170.8) vs. Ben Saunders (169.8)

Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Marius Zaromskis (169.2) vs. Brent Weedman (171.0)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Raul Amaya (171.0) vs. Jose Gomes (170.8)

Middleweight Feature Fight: Matt Jones (182.8) vs. Cortez Coleman (186.0)

Catchweight Feature Fight (140 lbs.): Chris Pham (139.6) vs. Jason Sampson (137.4)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Zach Church (154.6) vs. Damon Jackson (155.2)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Hunter Tucker (145.0) vs. Javier Obregon (146.0)

Bellator MMA will return to Spike TV for a second show this coming Thursday night, and the main card should be a dandy.

Bellator 86 will boast Ben Askren defending his welterweight title against Karl Amoussou in the main event, along with the debut of former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

Lawal will be facing Przemyslaw Mysiala in the opening round of the season eight light heavyweight tournament.

Three welterweight tournament bouts will also be featured on the main card, which begins at 10 p.m. ET.

MAIN CARD

Bellator Welterweight Championship Fight: Ben Askren (10-0) vs. Karl Amoussou (16-4-2)

Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Przemyslaw Mysiala (16-7) vs. King Mo (8-1)

Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Douglas Lima (22-5) vs. Michail Tsarev (24-3)

Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Koffie Adzitso (18-9) vs. Ben Saunders (13-5-2)

Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Marius Zaromskis (19-7) vs. Brent Weedman (20-8)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Raul Amaya (10-1) vs. Jose Gomes (32-8)

Middleweight Feature Fight: Matt Jones (4-3) vs. Cortez Coleman (8-3)

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Chris Pham (2-0) vs. Jason Sampson (9-1)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Zach Church (1-1) vs. Damon Jackson (3-0)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Mike Maldonado (3-0) vs. Joseph Salas (2-3)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Hunter Tucker (4-0) vs. Javier Obregon (4-3)

Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren doesn’t really care what people think of his style.

This coming Thursday, Askren will defend his title against Karl Amoussou at Bellator 86 on Spike TV.

Askren, a well-decorated amateur wrestler, is a perfect 10-0 in his MMA career. However, each of his last six victories have come via decision, igniting much talk about his lack of finishes inside the cage.

“I’m never gonna change my style,” said Askren, during a conference call recently. “I am who I am. I’m not afraid to be that guy. I made a lot of improvements in my game, but nothing will ever be as good as my wrestling.”

Askren understands that fans, the media and other fighters are just “trying to get under my skin,” by constantly asking about his style. He added that vs. Amoussou you can expect the same thing, saying, “what’s going to happen is 25 minutes of me winning. The fans will be disappointed because there’s no way that belt isn’t leaving with me.”

Of Askren’s 10 career victories, six are by decision, three via submission and one by knockout.

Bellator is set to make its debut this month on Spike TV. And, ahead of that show, the promotion has put together a welcome program for Spike TV.

Bellator 360 will debut this evening on Spike TV at 10 p.m. ET. The show will feature current Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler and his opponent, Rick Hawn.

Also, a second episode of the show will air immediately after the first, with Bellator middleweight title fighters Alexander Shlemenko and Maiquel Falcao the focus.

The program is set to return next Thursday with episodes highlighting Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren and featherweight champ Pat Curran.

Bellator is coming to Oklahoma in the new year, as they will host three events at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville.

The first takes place January 24 and will feature a welterweight championship match between Ben Askren and Karl Amoussou.

Bellator will use the Global Event Center, which seats more than 3,000 people. The company debuts in January on Spike TV and will showcase two-plus hours of live MMA on Thursday nights.

Two title fights will mark the first Bellator show on Spike TV, which is set for Thursday, January 17 at 10 p.m. ET. The program will follow TNA Impact wrestling, providing four-plus hours of combat sports, according to Spike TV president Kevin Kay, who made the announcement during a conference call.

“MMA is coming home to Spike, and we are truly excited to have Bellator on Spike,” Kay said.

Bjorn Rebney, the CEO of Bellator, confirmed two title fights, as Michael Chandler will defend his Bellator lightweight title in the main event against Rick Hawn.

Also, Pat Curran will face Patricio Freire for the Bellator featherweight title to kick-start the show.

The second episode will feature Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren facing Karl Amoussou, along with the debut of Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.