Demian Maia Chokes Out Ben Askren In UFC Singapore Main Event

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Demian Maia has a few tricks left up his sleeve.

In the main event of UFC Fight Night 162, Maia took on Ben Askren in what the Ultimate Fighting Championship booth hyperbolically termed a matchup to determine the best grappler in MMA. That might have been overstating things, but Maia’s claim to that hypothetical title is stronger than ever, as he choked out the “Funky” one in the third round. The opening round featured awkward kickboxing exchanges, with Maia seeming to get the better of most of them, while the second round saw Askren score with increasing frequency and power on the feet. An Askren takedown late in the round was quickly reversed by Maia, who took mount and forced Askren to scramble for his life. In the third round, Askren again took Maia down, and Maia once again swept quickly, this time with a heel hook attempt. Askren would not escape this time, as Maia took three-quarter mount, inducing Askren to give up his back. From there, it was academic, as Maia cinched up a rear-naked choke that forced Askren to tap out ⁠— and appear to go to sleep briefly ⁠— at 3:54 of Round 3.

The win is Maia’s third straight, putting the three-fight losing streak of 2017-2018 further in the rearview, and shows him to be a man with some life left in him in the welterweight division. Meanwhile, it’s Askren’s second straight loss after going undefeated in his first 20 fights, and the second that has left him staring up at the arena lights.

Ray Edges Out Johnson

Steven Ray took a strong step forward in the lightweight division, prevailing over Michael Johnson via majority decision in a lively co-main event. Johnson looked sharp in the first two rounds, flashing his superior hand and foot speed and sprawling on Ray’s takedown attempts effortlessly. In the third, however, Ray finally secured the takedown about halfway through the round, and from there it was all one-way traffic from the Scottish fighter. Ray pummeled Johnson mercilessly from back mount in between rear-naked choke attempts, with Johnson surviving but never able to even attempt to escape or sweep before the final horn. Two judges saw the fight 29-28 for Ray, while the third scored it 28-28.

With the narrow decision, Ray’s career tally is 23-9, while Johnson goes to 19-15.

Dariush Taps Camacho

Beneil Dariush (17-4) made it look easy, choking out Frank Camacho (22-8) to run his win streak to three. After a couple of snappy opening exchanges on the feet, Dariush shot for a takedown and after a brief scramble, took Camacho’s back. From there, he locked up a rear-naked choke immediately, while securing a body triangle. Camacho tried to fight off the choke, but the technique was airtight and he was forced to tap out at 2:02 of the first round.

Gane Heel Hooks Mayes

Ciryl Gane managed to turn a routine beatdown into a shocking finish, as he absolutely savaged Don’Tale Mayes with strikes for over 14 minutes before grabbing a surprise submission. The fight very nearly didn’t make it out of the first round, as Gane dropped Mayes late and swarmed with heavy ground-and-pound as referee Herb Dean looked on closely. Mayes survived to hear the horn, but fared little better in the second and third rounds, as “Bon Gamin” punished him with long kicks and straight punches. Halfway through the final round, Gane brought Mayes to the ground against the fence and, after softening him up with strikes, suddenly fell back for a heel hook. A visibly pained Mayes tapped at 4:46 of the final round.

With the sensational win, Gane goes to 5-0, with all wins coming by finish; Mayes falls to 7-3.

Salikhov Kickboxes Past Staropoli

Muslim Salikhov outlanded and out-powered a resilient Laureano Staropoli in a vertigo-inducing main card opener. The Dagestani “King of Kung Fu” threw dozens of spinning kicks, landing most of them, as well as an eye-popping array of more conventional kicks and punches. Staropoli was game and more than willing to exchange, throwing quite a few exotic strikes of his own, but none of them seemed to faze Salikhov. The second round was especially lopsided, with Salikhov uncorking some vicious combinations in the latter half of the round, but Staropoli endured to the final horn. The judges awarded the fight to Salikhov by 30-26 (twice) and 29-28 scorecards, extending his win streak to three and his overall record to 16-2. The loss ends a seven-fight win streak for Staropoli, who falls to 9-2.