Firing back, Thomas calls Askren a ‘coward’: ‘He needs to keep his mouth shut before I shut it for him’

War of words intensifies on eve of much-anticipated rematch at Bellator 19 in Dallas

GRAND PRARIE, Texas (May 19, 2010) — Bellator Welterweight Tournament semifinalist Ryan Thomas shot back at disparaging comments made Monday by his opponent, Ben Askren,calling the former U.S. Olympian a “coward” who “needs to keep his mouth shut before I shut it for him.”

The remarks were the latest salvo in the ongoing war of words between the two fighters, who will meet for the second time in five weeks on Thursday at Bellator 19 in Dallas. Tickets for the much-anticipated event are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.

Thomas and Askren first met in the cage at Bellator 14 in Chicago on April 15^th during the quarterfinal round of Bellator’s Welterweight Tournament. Roughly 2:30 into Round 1, Askren locked Thomas into a tight choke hold. After a few seconds, the cage referee stopped the fight, much to the dismay of Thomas and his corner, who protested that Thomas gave no indication that he wanted the fight stopped.

Thomas said Wednesday that Askren “knows he didn’t submit me with that make-believe move,” and called on him to stop boasting about the disputed win.

“I think it’s pretty cowardly of him to be walking around running his mouth bragging about a victory he didn’t earn,” Thomas, the 12-4 UFC veteran said. “The guy hasn’t done anything in MMA. He hasn’t beaten anybody, including me, so I don’t know where he gets off disrespecting me. After this fight I’m gonna show him that you can’t be a one-dimensional fighter in MMA in this day and age.”

Thomas also revealed Wednesday that his training partners pasted photos of Askren and some of his “trash-talking” comments all over the walls at his gym in Central Illinois as inspiration.

“It’s helped put that visual image in my head of him running his mouth and disrespecting me,” Thomas said. “It’s helped me train a lot harder. I don’t like the guy, so that’s made a difference.”

Earlier this week, Askren predicted that he would defeat Thomas easily in their matchup.

“I’m going to do the same thing I did the last time: I’m going to go in there and choke him,” Askren said. “Only this time, I’m gonna put him to sleep all the way so he can’t complain about it.”

He also accused Thomas of “talking [trash] on the message boards.”

“That’s the kind of thing I might have done when I was 16 years old – not a grown man,” Askren said. “It’s all pretty childish if you ask me.”

Thomas, for his part, denied Wednesday that he had ever posted comments about Askren or the fight online, though he said that he “can’t control what the fans do.”

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