VIDEO: Askren vs. Santos ends in no contest

Likely the best welterweight not plying his trade under the Zuffa umbrella, ONE Championship 170-pound overlord Ben Askren is expected to run roughshod over his opponents while he awaits an eventual UFC contract.

Luis Santos, however, did not get the memo, and was putting up a pretty decent fight during their title bout at ONE Championship 26 on Friday before an inadvertent eye-poke brought the spirited proceedings to a screeching halt.

The situation quickly devolved into chaos, with the referee initially waving off the fight, before changing his mind and giving Santos five minutes to recover (five minutes on top of the few minutes of confusion following the eye-poke/takedown).

Santos, who claimed he couldn't see out of the eye, ultimately decided not to risk further damage, and the fight was ruled a no contest.

"This is embarrassing," Askren said following the bout, according to MMAFighting.com's Shaun Al-Shatti. "I knew that the strategy and what I heard from people was he comes out strong early then he's going to look for a way out. And it's unfortunate that his way out came this way. He's lived in America for five years. I know he understands 'get up,' I know he understands 'yes' or 'no.' I don't even know what to say. Let's fight again as soon as possible, maybe next week, maybe two weeks. You looked for a way out. I'm going to give you a better way out next time."