Another horror night for Asken as Maia submits him

It was another night to forget for Ben Asken who lost his second welterweight fight in a row after Demian Maia submitted him in round three of the main event at UFC Fight Night 162 in Singapore on Saturday.

Many expected the 41-year-old Maia to struggle against Olympic athlete and superior grappler Asken, but the Brazilian jiu-jitsu master showed his grit and, despite losing the opening two rounds, he managed to apply a rear-naked choke in the third to win the bout.

After the contest, Maia admitted he prepared well for the fight and praised Asken, but said he only has two fights left in his career and called out Diego Sanchez.

DEMIAN MAIA WITH THE SUBMISSION! ????#UFCSingapore! pic.twitter.com/PDYBIZR9w5

— SuperSport ???? (@SuperSportTV) October 26, 2019

"This fight was a very intriguing fight for me, I didn’t know what was going to happen," said Maia. "I think 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. I knew he was waiting for one kind of sweep that I do in the half guard, so I trained other stuff to confuse him. 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. In my opinion, he and I are the best grapplers in the game, pure grapplers who really represent the grappling arts. You don’t see anybody like me – efficient at representing just one art. And he represents mainly wrestling. So it was an interesting clash of styles. I didn’t know what to expect, but I trust very much in my game.

"I want to have two more fights and after that, I want to retire. Diego Sanchez is someone who has been calling me out for years. It will be a veteran fight, something people will like and something I can do."

In the co-main event, it was a war of attrition as Stevie Ray beat Michael Johnson via majority decision in a lightweight bout. Both fighters took the centre of the cage from the first bell of the opening round, and traded blows like gladiators.

It was an entertaining fight as both southpaws landed telling blows in what was mainly a stand-up fight. The difference on the night came in the third round when Ray got Johnson to the floor and managed to get two full minutes of ground and pound which ultimately saw him win the fight.

Beneil Dariush gave a masterclass in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with his first-round submission victory over Frank Camacho in their lightweight bout. Dariush dominated from the opening bell and quickly took Camacho to the ground before taking his back and submitting him via a rear-naked choke.

In the other bouts on the main card, Cyril Gane defeated Don’Tale Mayes by submission in round three of their heavyweight fight while Muslim Salikhov earned a unanimous decision win over Laureano Staropoli in their welterweight contest.

MAIN CARD RESULTS:

- Muslim Salikhov def. Laureano Staropoli by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-28)

- Cyril Gane def. Don’Tale Mayes by submission (heel hook) at 4:46 of Round 3

- Beneil Dariush def. Frank Camacho by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:02 of Round 1

- Stevie Ray def. Michael Johnson by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

- Demian Maia def. Ben Askren by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:54 of Round 3