Demian Maia out-grapples Ben Askren for main-event victory at UFC Fight Night
SINGAPORE — Demian Maia may already be on the wrong side of 40 years old, but the Brazilian showed that he still can outwit his younger opponents, as he thrillingly won his main-event bout at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night against Ben Askren at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday (26 October).
The 41-year-old won his third straight UFC fight by turning the tables on 35-year-old wrestling specialist Askren.
Down on the mat in the third round, the grappling expert somehow wriggled his way into a rear neck choke on the American, who tapped out and suffered the second straight defeat of his UFC career.
“I was doing well on the stand up and when I fell on the bottom, he was strong. He’s a great wrestler, but I was able to pull some tricks I used in my jiu jitsu training many years ago,” Maia said after his bout in front of a 7,155-strong crowd.
“I think my strikes were connecting better, he was connecting too but mine were connecting with more efficiency, so I knew if I kept going, he’d get tired faster than me.
“For me, this is a great win. He and I are the best grapplers in the game, pure grapplers who really represent the grappling arts. I didn’t know what to expect, but I trust very much in my game.”
Other main card results
Welterweight – Muslim Salikhov vs Laureano Staropoli: Russia’s Salikhov scored a win via unanimous decision over his Argentinian rival, boosted by a superb second round in which he rained blows at will at Staropoli.
“I tried to finish the fight, but he was tough. It’s good to get a win by decision sometimes, because in the future I may have a much tougher opponent,” Salikhov said.
Heavyweight – Ciryl Gane vs Don’Tale Mayes: France’s Gane dominated his American opponent, flooring him with a flying knee in the first round before forcing Mayes to submit with a leg-lock at 4min 46sec in the third round.
“I’m about 75 per cent satisfied with my performance. I wanted to finish the fight in the first round. But he’s big, so I knew it was going to be hard. At the end, I just took the opportunity when it came, to get the submission,” Gane said.
Lightweight – Frank Camacho vs Beneil Dariush: A quick win for Californian Dariush, who forced Camacho to tap out with a rear neck choke after 2min 2sec in the first round.
“Once I get my hooks in, it doesn’t matter if I’m against the cage or no cage, it’s about being patient. It takes time to make that choke work, and it’s something I’ve been working on recently,” Dariush said.
Lightweight – Michael Johnson vs Stevie Ray: A bloodied Ray managed to turn the tables in the third round, when he got Johnson in a lengthy chokehold and pummelled the American. The Scot eventually got the win via split decision, much to the displeasure of Johnson.
“The first round was close. I believed I’d lost the second round. My coach knew I’d do a good third round if I thought that,” Ray said after his fight. “So I came out and dominated the third round and got the body triangle. To be honest, that’s my favourite position in the gym, I finish a lot of guys there.”
Preliminary bouts: Raphael Pessoa beat Jeff Hughes (unanimous decision); Loma Lookboonmee beat Alexandra Albu (split decision); Sergei Pavlovich beat Maurice Greene (technical knock-out); Mosvar Evloev beat Enrique Barzola (unanimous decision); Rafael Fiziev beat Alex White (unanimous decision); and Randa Markos beat Ashley Yoder (split decision).
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