Bellator's Jay Hieron on Ben Askren rematch: 'This is a fight people want to see'

Jay Hieron thought he did enough. Many fans, viewers and pundits concurred.

Two of the three judges begged to differ, though.

Hieron (22-5 MMA, 3-1 BFC) came up just short in his quest to win the Bellator welterweight championship against the incumbent Ben Askren (9-0 MMA, 6-0 BFC) this past Saturday, Oct. 29, in the headliner of Bellator 56 in Kansas City, Kan.

After five rounds of action, the judges awarded Askren the split-decision win via 48-47, 47-48 and 48-47 scores.

The contentious contest served as the MTV2-televised main event of Bellator 56.

"I think I'm the champ, man," Hieron told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "I think I did enough to win. I think I won the first round, the third round, and the fifth. I closed the show, the championship round, hands down."

Heading into the final five minutes, Hieron was under the impression the fight was tied based on feedback he received from cornermen Gil Martinez and Mike Pyle. Hieron, armed with a renewed sense of urgency, let loose looking to finish his opponent. At the very least, the plan was to forge a lasting impression in the judges' eyes.

"His (Askren's) whole demeanor changed that fifth round," Hieron said. "His eyes were wide open. I broke him. That's how I feel. I feel that fifth round, if I had a little bit more time maybe or if I would have gotten a little closer, I could have had him out of there."

Askren appeared defeated even when his hand was raised. He was clearly not happy with his performance.

Hieron, on the other hand, reeked of anger and disbelief.

So what happens now?

Based on how the first 25 minutes played out, a rematch could be in order. If Bellator chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney agrees, he'll have to perform some logistical jiu-jitsu to make it happen.

For one, the season-five welterweight tournament winner is already guaranteed a title shot against Askren. The final between Douglas Lima and Ben Saunders transpires on Nov. 12 at Bellator 57.

If Hieron is granted the rematch, he conceivably could face Askren in 2012 while another welterweight tournament is playing out or about to play out. Instead of Askren participating in a non-title fight to stay busy, he could face Hieron instead. The belt may or may not be on the line.

The final option would be to simply assign Hieron to a future tournament and have him earn his way to a title shot again.

After all, he did lose fair and square.

Details, details, details.

"We'll see," Hieron said. "We're going to start talking with them (Bellator officials) again soon. We'll see the next options. I like Bellator.

"This is a fight people want to see. This is a fight that makes Bellator bigger. It has all the drama behind it. We're going to talk [expletive] again. That's just him; you know what I mean? He knows how to get to me. He's going to say something, and I'm going to say something back. We're going to be right at the weigh-ins again up in each other's face, and it's going to be another great fight."

For more on Bellator 56, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.

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