UFC Singapore starts bright and early at 5:30 AM on Saturday morning. It will be a bitch to catch them, but I am excited to have the fights done in time for college football to start. This card has some interesting matchups, with a bunch of new names. We will get two of the best grapplers in MMA history. Let’s jump into the card now.
MAIN CARD
DEMIAN MAIA V. BEN ASKREN
This is a fight grappling fans have been clamoring over since Ben Askren was traded to the UFC. Two of the best grapplers in modern MMA. Askren is coming off the most devastating and embarrassing KO in UFC history, the 5 second flying knee to Jorge Masvidal. That was coming on the back of a brutal but short win over Robbie Lawler. Askren was dropped and beaten down, many thought it should have been called, but somehow recovered and choked out Lawler for the win. It’s nice to see Askren take on a fighter that is nearly as weak of a striker has he is. Demian Maia is making his 31st trip to the octagon. He is 21-9 in the UFC, and has faced nearly everyone between 170 and 185. We all know Maia is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist. Even though everyone knows he will go to his BJJ skills to win, he has still taken out so many guys. In his most recent losses, his opponents were dominant and strong wrestlers. He lost 3 consecutive fights to Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington, and Kamaru Usman. All 3 of them are strong wrestlers. Askren wrestles like them too. I think this might go the way those fights went.
Ben Askren by decision
MICHAEL JOHNSON V. STEVIE RAY
If you asked me who the last person to beat Tony Ferguson was, I cannot imagine guessing right. If you don’t know, it is Michael Johnson. Shit, his and Tony’s careers have diverged quite intensely since that fight. Tony has ascended to the top of the lightweight division, while Johnson became a gatekeeper at lightweight, then moved down to featherweight to try to revive his career, only to end up back at lightweight for this fight against Stevie Ray. Ray has also been inconsistent in his UFC career. Since starting 3-0 in the UFC, he has been 3-4. Ray is a brawler, he doesn’t have much grappling and his losses have come in fights that he was out wrestled in and made to fight hesitantly for fear of a takedown. Johnson has some grappling skills and is a good counter striker. I think Johnson will be too fast for Ray and the threat of a takedown will keep Ray hesitant.
Michael Johnson by decision
FRANK CAMACHO V. BENEIL DARIUSH
I am quite excited for this matchup. This is a good style matchup, probably better for Dariush, but it is good for the fans. Frank Camacho is a brawler that likes to stand and trade. He was on The Ultimate Fighter in 2013, but lost to Neil Magny and did not make his UFC debut until June 2017, a loss to Jingliang Li. He is 2-3 in the UFC and is coming off a TKO win over Nick Hein. Camacho’s fights are always entertaining as he fights with an insane reckless abandon. He just moves forward and tries to kill his opponent.
Beneil Dariush made his UFC debut in January 2014, beating Charlie Brenneman (no clue) by rear naked choke in the first round. Dariush is 10-4-1 in the UFC with 4 submission wins, 1 TKO, and 5 decisions. His 4 losses, 3 were KOs and 1 was a submission. So, we know Dariush doesn’t have a ton of decisions on his resume, win or lose. Dariush is coming off an impressive submission win over Drew Dober. (I picked Dariush over Dober on Jon Anik and Kenny Florian Podcast fyi). Dariush has good power and is a good striker. His main advantage though will be the wrestling/grappling. Camacho doesn’t have much expertise on the mat. Dariush has been relying on his wrestling more in his last couple of fights, and it has been a revelation. I think he will try to take this fight to the ground and depend on wrestling/grappling again.
Beneil Dariush by 2nd round submission
CIRYL GANE V. DON’TALE MAYES
When I saw Ciryl Gane step into the octagon for his UFC debut against Raphael Pessoa in August 2019, I thought, “holy shit, someone that can match up against Francis Ngannou. I need to see that fight.” Then I found out, we probably won’t get to see that fight since they are training partners. When I found that out, I knew this guy would be a force to be reckoned with. Gane is a monster of a human, similar to Ngannou, and is a very good Muay Thai fighter. He is dangerous on the feet, but going to the mat isn’t much safer. Gane is 4-0 in his professional career; 2 wins by TKO, 2 wins by submission. Gane is going up against a guy that is just as big as he is in Don’Tale Mayes. Mayes won a contract from Dana White Contender Series, but it did take him 3 attempts. He was 2-1 on DWCS, and finally got rewarded with a contract. Mayes is a decent prospect, but he is not polished and has a lot to improve upon. Mayes is one of the few fighters that matches up well against Gane in height, reach, and weight measurements. Mayes doesn’t have the best gas tank though and that causes him problems. In this fight though, I don’t think gas tank will matter much.
Ciryl Gane by 1st round TKO
MUSLIM SALIKHOV V. LAUREANO STAROPOLI
This is one of those low key awesome matchups. Two great strikers going up against each other, both wanting to make a name for themselves. Both are young and hungry but stuck in a very deep welterweight division. Muslim Salikhov is a kickboxer and is 2-1 in the UFC. He lost his debut against Alex Garcia getting submitted by a rear naked choke in the second round. He followed that up with a 2nd round KO of Ricky Rainey and a 1st round KO of Nordine Taleb. That 1st round KO of Taleb was absolutely brutal. Salikhov’s striking is impeccable and he has destructive power. Of his 15 wins, 12 of them are by TKO/KO, 2 by submission, and 1 decision. Salikhov is not someone you want to stand in front of and trade shots. Lucky for us, the man he is going up against, Laureano Staropoli is a striker and prefers to stand in front of his opponent and trade shots. Staropoli was brought into the UFC for the card in Argentina in November 2018. They wanted some local talent, so they brought him in. He ended up winning a decision over Hector Aldana. He followed that up with another decision win over Thiago Alves, no easy feat. Staropoli is a fun striker to watch, he will throw anything he can at you. Unfortunately for him, he isn’t as technical a striker as Salikhov is. Salikhov is a more polished striker, due to his kickboxing background. This will be a fun fight for the fans.
Muslim Salikhov by 2nd round TKO
PRELIMS
RANDA MARKOS V. ASHLEY YODER
Randa Markos hasn’t won consecutive fights since her run on The Ultimate Fighter in 2014, if you can count that as they are exhibition fights. If you don’t count TUF, it was 2012-2013 when she started her professional career on a three fight winning streak. She is coming off an uninspired decision loss to Claudia Gadelha. She looked tentative and nervous. Randa is a wrestler that has fallen in love with her power. It has held her back a bit in her losses. If she gets behind on the scorecards she just waits to unleash the fury and knock them out. While she has power, she has 0 KO/TKO wins in her career. So it definitely hinders her game plans. Ashley Yoder is a decent fighter, mostly a grappler. She is a submission specialist and works best when she can be the aggressive grappler. Unfortunately, Markos is stronger and Yoder probably won’t be able to get in dominant positions.
Randa Markos by decision
ALEX WHITE V. RAFAEL FIZIEV
Rafael Fiziev by decision
ENRIQUE BARZOLA V. MOVSAR EVLOEV
Movsar Evloev by decision
MAURICE GREENE V. SERGEI PAVLOVICH
A battle of up and coming heavyweights. Both are relatively new to the UFC. They’ve had a handful of fights each. Sergei Pavlovich is 1-1 in the UFC, losing to Alistair Overeem by 1st round TKO, not the worst loss considering it was his UFC debut. He bounced back with a 1st round KO win of his own against Marcelo Golm. Maurice Greene is 3-0 in the UFC with a submission win over Michel Batista, decision win over Jeff Hughes, and a TKO win over Junior Albini. Pavlovich is a classic heavyweight, strong greco roman wrestler with devastating power. Maurice Greene fights as weird as his nickname, The Crochet Boss. He has some power, but he throws combinations. He’s not great at using his height to his advantage. If he does go to the ground, he uses his long ass legs to throw submissions. Four of his eight wins are by submission, with 3 of them coming by triangle choke, and 1 by arm-triangle choke. I think Greene’s awkwardness will get by Pavlovich’s power.
Maurice Greene by decision
LOMA LOOKBOONMEE V. ALEKSANDRA ALBU
Loma Lookboonmee is making her UFC debut in her 5th professional fight. She will be the first fighter from Thailand in UFC history. She is a world class Muay Thai fighter, she has won several championships. She is a technical striker and as long as she dictates the pace of the fight, she should have the striking advantage. However, she has fought mostly at atomweight before, so she will be giving up size and that could be a factor. She is going up against Aleksandra Albu, a Russian fighter making her 4th trip to the octagon. She is 2-1 in the UFC, coming off a 1st round submission loss to Emily Whitmire. Albu will be bigger and stronger, but she won’t be as technical of a striker. Albu will try to make it a dirty brawl, and if she can swarm Loma, she can overwhelm her and win. I don’t think she will be able to do that though.
Loma Lookboonmee by decision
RAPHAEL PESSOA V. JEFF HUGHES
This is a matchup of heavyweights looking to make a name for themselves. They both lost their UFC debuts and are looking for a solid rebound. As usual with heavyweights, this fight should deliver fireworks. Jeff Hughes is looking for his first UFC win. He won a contract on Dana White Contender Series, with a 1st round KO of Josh Appelt. His first UFC fight he lost a split decision to Maurice Greene. He followed that up with a No Contest against Todd Duffee due to an accidental eye poke. Hughes looked pretty good in that fight up until the eye poke. He was able to eat some big shots and not slow down. He showed some good combinations. Hughes is also a decent wrestler, at least better than Pessoa has shown. Hughes should be able to withstand Pessoa’s power punches and tire him out. Raphael Pessoa lost his UFC debut in August 2019 to fellow newcomer, who is fighting later this card), Ciryl Gane by 1st round submission. Pessoa did not look great in that fight; he showed a lot of holes in his game. I think this will be a fun brawl, but I think Hughes, the better all-around fighter will prevail.
Jeff Hughes by decision
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
MUSLIM SALIKHOV V. LAUREANO STAROPOLI