UFC Fight Night 162: Maia submits Askren to be hailed as UFC's greatest grappler

UFC Fight Night 162 took place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, where top grappling welterweights Demian Maia and Ben Askren would take on each other in a fight where the winner would be crowned the UFC's greatest grappler.

Also on the card were lightweight bouts between Michael Johnson and Stevie Ray as well as Frank Camacho and Beneil Dariush, a heavyweight clash between Ciryl Gane and Don'Tale Mayes, and lastly a welterweight showdown between Muslim Saliknov and Laureano Staropoli.

Demian Maia submits Ben Askren

The main event of the night was won by Demian Maia as he choked out Ben Askren to prove that he’s the best grappler in the UFC.

You wouldn’t have thought the two were mainly grapplers when watching the fight, as they both wanted to stand and try to strike against the other, which was appearing to be more successful for Askren who caused lots of redness to Maia’s face early on.

Askren decided to go back to his routes and scored a couple of takedowns but inflicted little damage from the top and Maia’s Jiu jitsu ability enabled him to squirm out from under “Funky” Askren using an omoplata.

Then Damian Maia produced some stunning Brazilian Jiu jitsu to get himself on top after Askren took him down again, and then from there the Brazilian took the American’s back and submitted him via rear naked choke.

Following his victory, Maia responded to why he kept the fight standing for so long: “my nature is to grapple but I try to strike to get him more tired-he’s a very tough guy to fight.”

“Diego Sanchez is someone who always call me and he’s a veteran, so I’d like him maybe.”

Stevie Ray defeats Michael Johnson via unanimous decision

Scotland’s Stevie Ray produced a last-ditch comeback to seal the unanimous decision win over Michael Johnson who loses yet another fight which he should’ve won.

Johnson has fought and defeated the likes of Dustin Poirier, Edson Barboza and even-handed Tony Ferguson the only loss of his career, but as in previous fights the American lightweight lost the fight in the final round.

Michael “The Menace” Johnson edged the first round with his lightening quick striking and was taking control of the second as he inflicted lot’s of damage to Ray.

But the Scottish mixed martial artist fought on and cleverly brought the fight to the ground to end Johnson’s dominance on the feet-Ray went for a takedown which was met with a Johnson sprawl, to which was then countered by Stevie Ray who just out muscled Johnson and flipped “The Menace” onto his back.

With his opponent pushed against the cage, Ray went to town with the elbows and strikes and managed to win the judges over with a unanimous decision win (29,28 x2 and a draw).

“I’m absolutely buzzing…he’s a killer!” Said an over the moon Stevie Ray.

"Everybody doubted me, I hope with that fight I was able to show what I'm really made of."

“I don’t have a name in mind, but I want the best.” Exclaimed Ray who’s win now makes his record 23-9.

Meanwhile Johnson, who now has another loss on his record making it 19-15, will be wondering where it all went wrong.

Beneil Dariush finishes Frank Camacho early in the first

Dariush effortlessly disposed of Camacho as the Black Brazilian Jiu jitsu holder submitted his opponent early on in the first round.

To begin with, the Iranian MMA fighter was picking off Camacho on the feet with a combination of impressive movement and plenty of left-handed strikes.

As a result of his early dominance, Dariush then caught Frank Camacho off guard with a crafty takedown-from there, Dariush moved in for the kill as he climbed onto the back of Camacho and snuck his right arm under the chin of Camacho and sealed the deal.

“Don’t forget Frank is one of the best in this division and today was my day.”

An unmarked Dariush said, “my goal isn’t to get the belt…it’s just a by-product of my hard work.”

Beneil Dariush now has a record of 17-4-1.

Ciryl Gane forces Don'Tale Mayes to tap late on

The fight looked like it was going to the scorecards for a decision, but Gane saw an opportunity to end the fight late on with a superb heel hook submission on Mayes with 30 seconds left of the round.

The first round Gane edged with his superior striking ability impacting Mayes more so than the other way around-despite being 6′6″ Mayes was agile and managed to avoid some huge strikes from his French opponent.

Gane dominated the rest of the fight though, with the second round featuring the former kick boxer unloading on his arsenal of kicks to the body of Mayes.

Mayes could no longer handle the pain to his body and a final knee sent “Lord Kong” into retreat mode-from there Gane pressed the American fighter, took him to the ground and unleashed bombs from full mount.

With Mayes covered up, Gane saw an opportunity to seal his second submission victory of his UFC career via a heel hook causing Mayes to tap very quickly.

Training partner of Francis Ngannou looks like a top prospect in the heavyweight division, and a fight with Greg Hardy would be good to see how either fighter deals with the other.

King of Kung Fu Muslim Saliknov defeats Laureano Staropoli

The King of Kung Fu displayed his exceptional striking prowess from start to finish as Muslim Saliknov won the fight by unanimous decision (30,26 x2 and 29,28).

Furthermore, it was evident Saliknov has had a lot of experience, as he threw strikes with incredible efficiency and always maintained his position in the centre of the octogen.

The first round was very even, with both Saliknov and Staropoli being very patient as the pair analysed one another.

In the second however, Muslim Saliknov came into his own as he started to stun Argentinian Staropoli, allowing The King of Kung Fu to pick apart his opponent with flawless accuracy in his striking.

Going into the third round, Staropoli knew he was down on the scorecards, and was encouraged to “go forward and be smart,” by his coach-as a result Staropoli pressed Saliknov throughout the round and managed to end the fight inflicting some meaningful damage to Saliknov.

“He was very tough,” exclaimed a very tired Saliknov who struggled to pull a sentence together without taking a deep, heavy breath-if the fight had continued for another couple minutes maybe Staropoli’s pressure would’ve been too much for the Russian to handle.