Maia Vs Askren Predictions
Ben Askren takes on Demian Maia in the main event of UFC Singapore on October 26th. Ben Askren, who came into the UFC with an unbeaten record and multiple organization championship in his resume, finds himself in a peculiar position going into this fight with former number one title contender, Demian Maia.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night 162: Maia vs. #1 Demian Maia vs. Ben Askren Ben Askren is looking to bounce back from the first loss of his career this weekend. To check out the latest and greatest UFC Fight Night 162: “Askren vs. Maia” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. Current UFC “Prelims” Prediction. In the main event, former welterweight and middleweight title challenger Demian Maia (27-9 MMA, 21-9 UFC) takes on former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder Ben Askren (19-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who is coming off a 5-second knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal. The oddsmakers have made Askren a favorite of around -175, and our 13 MMA Junkie editors. Prediction: Michael Johnson over Stevie Ray by KO. Demian Maia and Ben Askren are near the top of the sport in their respective disciplines with Askren being one of the best collegiate wrestlers in the promotion and Maia being one of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the world. Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC on ESPN+ 20 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the.
Although the loss against Jorge Masvidal was the first loss in Askren’s MMA career it has cost him dearly by derailing him from the path to a title shot. However, a win over UFC veteran, Demian Maia would make a strong case that Ben Askren is good enough to compete at the highest level. On the other hand, coming off two wins, Demian Maia would try to keep the momentum for another crack at the UFC title.
Both Ben Askren and Demian Maia are two of the elite grapplers in UFC at the moment and that makes it very difficult to give a prediction for this fight. However, here is what some of the UFC fighters think about the matchup between ben Askren and Demian Maia.
In a recent interview with ScoreMMA, UFC lightweight, Kevin Lee predicted Askren to dominate Maia with his wrestling and said:
“I am gonna go with ben. I got to go with wrestling over jiu-jitsu. So Ben Askren in that one.”
UFC welterweight, Stephen Thompson is also leaning towards Askren to get the job done:
“To be honest with you, I think Ben Askren got it. I think he is going to outwrestle Demian Maia. Demian Maia, he does use his grappling, he loves the top game, he is okay off his back, he has got his submissions, but I think Ben Askren’s pressure, I think he is going to outwrestle him and come out with a W”.
UFC heavyweight, Curtis Blaydes picked the Funky One to rag doll Maia as he said:
“Askren is going to rag doll him. I think Askren just takes him down, takes him down again, even though Demian is better off his back, I think he takes him down, stays safe, wins the round.”
Former UFC champion, Tyron Woodley makes a huge claim by saying :
“Ben Askren is gonna school Demian Maia. Jake Shields kind of wrote the book on how to …You get to get Damian Maia to the mat, you can not be in his half guard but you get to get him to the ground. You got to pressure him because if you allow him to do it to you, he is long, he is static he can hang there, and Ben did extremely well against Jake Shields.“
Maia Vs Askren Predictions Bleacher Report
Askren’s rival and former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington blasts Askren by saying ” he sucks at fighting“. Covington predicted:
“I see Damian Maia get the submission or knocking him out. It’s either going to be a submission or knock out for Damian Maia. Askren has no chin. he sucks at fighting. Literally, he could not hurt a fly, sitting on someone’s mouth for five rounds and could not put a scratch on the guy’s face.“
UFC lightweight, Dan Hooker predicted:
“I think Maia is going to put on a striking clinic. I feel like it’s kind of cancels it out. Demian Maia is not really the kind of guy you want to take down. This is the guy who went 5 rounds with on the peak Anderson Silva, I think he is of a higher level caliber striking than Ben Askren. I think he puts on a striking”
UFC welterweight, James Vick favored Askren’s wrestling to Maia’s grappling when he said:
“This is a good match up for Demian Maia. Because he can win the fight on the back. He is probably going to get taken down. I don’t see he is going to stop all of Askren’s takedown. But he is a guy who can legit win on his back. Askren has probably 10 years of Jiu-Jitsu already under his belt too. He is not a blue belt wrestler, he is a black belt wrestler. I am gonna go with Askren. As good as Demian Maia’s jiu-jitsu is he has lost 5 round fights with Jake Shields. I am gonna take Askren”
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Last week record: 5-7-1
Once again it is time for breakfast and fights when the UFC puts on a Fight Night card from Singapore Saturday morning. Welterweights Demian Maia and Ben Askren headline the eleven fight card, that should be sneaky fun. While there is lack of star power, this should be a nice card to lead the way to MSG next week. Time to pick!
Demian Maia (27-9) (10) vs Ben Askren (19-1) (11)
Dream match time for the hardcore fans! Maia is a BJJ legend. Askren is a wrestling legend. Who’s skill set is better? Maia is on a two fight win streak with wins this year over Lyman Good and Anthony Rocco Martin. Askren made his UFC debut in March with a controversial win over Robbie Lawler, but he was on the wrong end of a Jorge Masvidal knee in only five seconds in July.
Maia Vs Askren Predictions
Maia has struggled against the top wrestlers in the division as of late, dropping three straight decisions to Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington, and Kamaru Usman in 2017-2018, but I do think each of those fighters are more well rounded than Ben. On the flip side, Askren will not have to worry about the striking of a Robbie or Masvidal in this fight. Neither fighter has much of a standup game. I would probably give Maia the edge on the feet, but he’s still not a dangerous striker. This fight will end being a grappling contest, and I can’t wait. It really will be BJJ vs wrestling. Maia has looked really good this year, and I haven’t been impressed with Ben’s jump to the UFC. I think Maia gets the job done. Prediction: Demian Maia Decision
Michael Johnson (19-14) vs Stevie Ray (22-9)
Michael Johnson makes his return to Lightweight to battle Scotland’s Stevie Ray (not Harlem Heat’s Stevie Ray). Johnson moved down to Featherweight for a 2-2 run, including a loss in his last fight to Josh Emmett in March. Ray is also on a bit of a skid, going 1-3 in his last four fights. Both fighters are very capable of putting on a good fight. Both of these guys are pretty good on the feet, and I would be surprised it this spends much time on the ground. Johnson has very fast hand speed, and he won’t have to deal with the weight cut. I don’t see either of these guys making a real run in the very deep 155 division, but I like MJ to get his arm raised in his Lightweight return. Prediction: Michael Johnson Decision
Frank Camacho (22-7) vs Beneil Dariush (16-4-1)
Another fun fight in the Lightweight division here. Win or lose, Frank Camacho doesn’t have boring fights. After an unsuccessful 0-2 stretch at Welterweight, Frank moved back to Lightweight in June with a TKO win over Nick Hein. Dariush has looked very good at Lightweight, picking up two wins in the last twelve months. Camacho is better on his feet than he is on the ground, and Beneil is very well rounded. If Dariush gets the fight to the ground, I think the fight will be over. Prediction: Beneil Dariush 2nd Round Submission
Ciryl Gane (4-0) vs Don’tale Mayes (7-2)
Heavyweights clash when Ciryl Gane and “Kong” Mayes meet in Singapore. Two relatively unknown fighters, Gane won his UFC debut in August, while Mayes is making his debut. I liked what Gane showed in August, so I’ll take him for the win. Prediction: Ciryl Gane 2nd Round Submission
Muslim Salikhov (15-2) vs Laureano Staropoli (9-1)
Maia Vs Askren Predictions Ufc
Sneaky fun fight to start off the main card. Salikhov is 2-1 in the UFC. He had the highlight KO of Nordine Taleb in September. Staropoli is 2-0 in the UFC with his last win coming in May over Thiago Alves. Both of these guys are very fun to watch, but I think Salikhov’s power will be too much for Staropoli. Prediction: Muslim Salikhov 3rd Round KO
Six fights on the prelim card including a fun Randa Markos vs Ashley Yoder fight, and Farmington, MO’s Alex White makes his return to the Octagon. Quick picks for the prelims.
Randa Markos (9-7-1) vs Ashley Yoder (7-4) Prediction: Ashley Yoder
Alex White (13-5) vs Rafael Fiziev (6-1) Prediction: Rafael Fiziev
Enrique Barzola (16-4-1) vs Movsar Evloev (11-0) Prediction: Enrique Barzola
Sergey Pavlovich (14) (13-1) vs Maurice Greene (13) (8-2) Prediction: Sergey Pavlovich
Loma Lookboonmee (3-1) vs Aleksandra Albu (3-1) Prediction: Loma Lookboonmee
Raphael Pessoa (9-1) vs Jeff Hughes (10-2) Prediction: Raphael Pessoa
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