UFC Fight Night 162 Odds: Askren vs Maia & Full Main Card
- Ben Askren returns just four months after five-second knockout loss
- Demian Maia looking to extend his winning streak to three
- Michael Johnson return to lightweight in the co-main event
The Octagon heads to Singapore on Saturday, October 26th for UFC Fight Night 162.
In the main event, arguably the two best grapplers in the UFC go at it as Olympic wrestler, Ben Askren, returns to take on jiu-jitsu ace, Demian Maia.
The co-main event sees Michael Johnson return to the lightweight division after a devastating knockout loss to Josh Emmett to face Stevie Ray.
Ben Askren vs. Demian Maia Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Ben Askren | -175 |
| Demian Maia | +145 |
All odds taken on October 23, 2019
Can Askren Get Back Into the Win Column?
Ben Askren (19-1 and one no-contest) is coming off of his first professional loss, in which he lost in five seconds to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239. Masvidal started with a flying knee that connected and knocked him out cold.
Before the loss, he won his UFC debut with a submission win over Robbie Lawler. Askren is the former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight champion with notable wins over Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Lyman Good, and Shinya Aoki among others.
Demian Maia (27-9) is riding a two-fight winning streak after dropping three in a row. He is coming off of a decision win over Anthony Rocco Martin, and a submission win over Lyman Good.
Before that, he lost to Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, and Tyron Woodley in a welterweight title match. The Brazilian has notable wins over Jorge Masvidal, Chael Sonnen, Jon Fitch, and Carlos Condit among others.
Tale of the Tape
| 35 | Age | 41 |
| 5’11” | Height | 6’1″ |
| 72″ | Reach | 72″ |
| 1 | UFC finishes | 11 |
| 1-1 | UFC record without landing a significant strike | 1-1 |
The most notable stat between the two is that they both have won a fight without landing a significant strike, while Ben Askren has yet to throw a strike in his two UFC fights.
This fight is a grapplers fan delight as it pairs two of the best grapplers in the world at it. Askren will no doubt want to get the fight to the ground with his wrestling, but once he gets it down there, a major question is, can he avoid the sweeps from Maia and not get submitted?
Maia, meanwhile, should want to keep this fight on the feet as he holds the striking advantage, which doesn’t happen in many fights.
Ultimately, I believe Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman paved the way for Askren to win this fight with his relentless pressure and wrestling. Both Covington and Usman got Maia tired with constant chain-wrestling which “Funky” will do to win this fight by decision.
Pick: Ben Askren (-172)
Michael Johnson vs. Stevie Ray Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Michael Johnson | -260 |
| Stevie Ray | +200 |
Michael Johnson Returns to Lightweight
Michael Johnson (19-14) is coming off of a knockout loss to Josh Emmett, in the featherweight classification. He is moving back up to lightweight after a brief stint at featherweight where he went 2-2.
At lightweight, he had much more success with wins over Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier, Edson Barboza but a stretch of a 1-4 record with losses to Nate Diaz, Beneil Dariush, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje forced him to move to featherweight.
Stevie Ray (22-9) was knocked out cold in his last fight to Leonardo Santos in June. Before that, he beat Jessin Ayari by decision. In the UFC he is 6-4 with a few notable wins like Joe Lauzon and Ross Pearson, but he has mixed results as he has lost fights he should have won like Kajan Johnson and Alan Patrick.
Tale of the Tape
| 33 | Age | 29 |
| 5’10” | Height | 5’10” |
| 73.5″ | Reach | 70″ |
| 4 | UFC finishes | 2 |
| March 2019 | Last Fight | June 2019 |
This fight could very well end by knockout as both fighters have power and both have been knocked out fairly often in their career. It also could be a loser leaves town match of sorts, as both have been struggling coming off of their knockout losses.
"I have to prove that I believe that I still belong here."@FollowTheMenace has a chip on his shoulder and he is looking forward to getting back on track against Stevie Ray at #UFCSingapore ?⬆️
More from Michael Johnson coming up on https://t.co/fdV4RnsUPw soon. pic.twitter.com/V0QJXQDYJc
— UFC News (@UFCNews) October 23, 2019
In this fight, Michael Johnson needs to keep this distance and use his jab effectively, while Ray should look to get it to the mat and see if he can use his Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt to try and submit Johnson, which I don’t believe will happen. I like Michael Johnson a lot here and believe he either wins by late TKO or a very commanding decision win.
Pick: Michael Johnson (-260)
UFC Fight Night 162 Main Card Odds
Here are the odds for the remaining fights on the main card.
Frank Camacho vs. Beneil Dariush Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Frank Camacho | +130 |
| Beneil Dariush | -160 |
Ciryl Gane vs. Don’Tale Mayes Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Ciryl Gane | -335 |
| Don’Tale Mayes | -140 |
Muslim Salikhov vs. Laureano Staropoli Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Muslim Salikhov | -185 |
| Laureano Staropoli | +150 |
Cole graduated from Sheridan College in April of 2019 with a diploma in journalism. He now is a full-time freelance writer, focusing on MMA for sites like BJPENN, while also covering the Toronto Blue Jays as a credentialed media member. At SBD, Cole covers the four major sports and MMA.
