UFC Singapore Preview

UFC Singapore Preview

By Claudia Peterson

UFC Fight Night 162 takes place later today at the Indoor Stadium in Kallan, Singapore. The main card starts at 8am EST and will air on ESPN+. Final closing odds for the main card are as follows:

Ben Askren (-185) vs. Demian Maia (+160)

Michael Johnson (-300) vs. Stevie Ray (+250)

Beneil Dariush (-165) vs. Frank Camacho (+145)

Cyril Gane (-350) vs. Don’Tale Mayes (+290)

Muslim Salikhov (-175) vs. Laureano Staropoli (+155)

The main event features the two welterweights who are known as the best grapplers in the entire UFC roster. Damien Maia (27-9) and former Bellator and One Championship welterweight champion Ben Askren (19-1).

Maia who is 2-0 this calendar year, is coming into this fight with lots of momentum, and he continues to amaze us every time he puts several wins in a row. At 41 years old, Maia can put himself back in title contention with a win over Askren, although he is coming into this fight as the underdog.

As for Askren, he is looking to bounce back from a devastating 5 second KO courtesy of Jorge Masvidal back in July. His UFC run thus far has not been an impressive one. He first had a controversial submission win over Robbie Lawler after being almost knocked out, and that was followed by a 5 second KO at the hands of Jorge Masdival several months later.

If Askren is unable to get the win on Saturday, many are questioning whether he should just retire at this point, so the pressure is heavily upon on him.

Lightweights Michael Johnson (19-14) and Stevie Ray (22-9) meet in the co-main event, and this fight will definitely be an exciting, fast paced fight. Johnson, who has an impressive win over former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirer, has struggled to put a string of wins together in the past two years. He will be looking to get a win here in his second fight this calendar year.

For his part, Steve Ray is no one to take lightly. However, he is 3-2 in his last five fights, and he too is itching to get a much needed win here against  Johnson if he wants to stay relevant.

The rest of the main card is filled with talented fighters, some of them in need of wins while others are looking to become known in the UFC.

Former lightweight top ten contedner Beniel Dariush (16-4-1) takes on Frank Camacho (22-7), unranked heavyweights Cyril Gane (4-0) and Don’Tale Mayes (6-2) will look to advance in the divison while Gane tries to remain undefeated, Welterweight Muslim Salikov (15-2) takes on newer propspect Laureano Staropoli (9-1), who has an impressive win over Thiago Alves.