Ace welterweight wrestler Ben Askren (19-1, 6 KOs, 6 SUBs) will meet decorated grappler Demian Maia (27-9, 3 KOs, 13 SUBs) at UFC on ESPN+ 20 on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The card streams live on ESPN+ at 8am ET.
The fight-crazed country of Singapore is getting one of the most intriguing grappler’s matchups in recent memory. This Saturday, two-time NCAA wrestling champion Ben Askren meets Demian Maia, a grappler who has won every major Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament on the planet. Even casual fans who aren’t into the ground game have to be intrigued by that setup.
The stakes are extremely high for Askren. Signed to the UFC to much fanfare, “Funky” has been brutalized in both of his octagon appearances so far. Most recently, Askren was on the unfortunate end of the record books, as Jorge Masvidal launched a flying knee into his face to notch the quickest knockout in UFC history. Not only was Askren humiliated after talking so much trash, it was the first loss of his pro career. It also didn’t help that he was nearly decapitated by Robbie Lawler and won with a controversial bulldog choke finish.
For a guy that talked himself up as a future champion, losing to Maia would pretty much shut the door on any title aspirations. For years, the Brazilian has been the guy you need to beat to get a title shot: both Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman went on to title challenges after beating him. Though it looked like he might’ve been finished after three lopsided losses (one in a title shot aginst Tyron Woodley), Maia has righted the ship with wins over Lyman Good and Anthony Rocco Martin. A title might not be in the cards for him, but beating Askren would absolutely be a milestone in a career filled with them.
Let’s take a look at the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu, the FightMetric stats and your best betting options. Live UFC betting is also available to make wagers on real-time money line updates during the fight.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Demian Maia -180
Ben Askren +143
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: -170 / +130
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Maia 1.71 / Askren 0
Striking accuracy: Maia 42% / Askren -
Strikes absorbed per minute: Maia 1.92 / Askren 8.49
Striking defense: Maia 64% / Askren 9%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Maia 2.56 / Askren 4.39
Takedown accuracy: Maia 25% / Askren 50%
Takedown defense: Maia 65% / Askren -
Submission average: Maia 1.03 / Askren 4.39
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The worst case scenario here: neither guy can take the other down, and we’re forced to watch two terrible strikers paw at each other for five rounds. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility, and Askren actually has 6 KOs to his credit - though many of those were the result of ground and pound.
However, both men are hardwired to try and take the fight to the mat. We’ve seen Maia shoot over and over against strong wrestlers, only to be denied. Askren instinctively ducks under any incoming strikes and goes straight for the legs - a big reason why Masvidal was able to launch his brain into the shadow realm.
It’s fair to say that both men are past their primes. Maia is 41 years old, though his style has allowed him to age gracefully and compete for younger fighters. Askren is 35, but wrestling is a notoriously taxing sport to begin with. Physically, Askren is probably the fresher fighter, but Maia has a slight size advantage as a former middleweight.
UFC Odds Pick: Askren to win at -180
Maia’s weakness is against strong wrestlers - he looks absolutely lost when he is unable to drag fights to the mat. While he’s an excellent grinder, it’s highly unlikely the Brazilian is the first guy to ever really take down Ben Askren. On top of that, he doesn’t have the striking to make Askren pay on the feet.
UFC Odds Pick: Fight goes to decision at -180
Let’s get this out of the way: neither man has the tools to finish the other. We’ve seen Maia survive some serious onslaughts, and Askren has never been submitted in his career.
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