UFC Fight Night 162 Previews & Predictions
Did not have time this week to write any post-fight analysis from last weekend's event, so I will pull together all the numbers after this event is over. In the meantime let's get to the Singapore card's previews. This is the first card since I started doing these careful previews where I have fighter's that I already previewed before.
We have never really seen Maia defend a takedown, cause no one sane would try to take him down. So he probably won't have the greatest sprawl to keep it standing. So it will become pretty certainly a grappling match. It's hard to say who has the edge there, but I am leaning on Maia. He probably ends up on the bottom initially since Askren will be the more offensive party, but he has all the sweeps in his locker to reverse the position and start working on a submission.
Who knows though, perhaps Ben can defend against it. Should that happen, Ben is probably gonna win the positional battle and get a decision. Maia is more of a finishing threat and his age is against him, but he is just on another level generally speaking.
It ending up as another match like the Woodley fight or Covington fight for Maia is unlikely cause Ben is so basic on the feet. I mean I think Ben could defend takedowns well enough to keep it standing, but like I said I believe Maia has the better stand-up of the two. At the same time, perhaps Ben has worked on his stand-up hard, knowing he does not wanna grapple with Maia? Lot of questionmarks there.
Maia by 3rd round Submission.
Michael Johnson by UD.
Frank Camacho vs. Beneil Dariush
I love watching Camacho fight. He is similar to Dariush's last opponent in that he is a heavy handed striker. Perhaps Dober had better takedown defence though, and Camacho is bit more technical and high volume as opposed to constant power like Dober. Either way, Dober had Dariush hurt, and he can definitely be hurt on the feet, but Dober ultimately fell to his grappling and worry is Camacho will do the same.
In short, Dariush has more avenues to win here, but I would not say it is impossible for Camacho to keep it standing and outpoint Dariush, or even hurt and finish him. Both definitely have clear avenues to win here.
At present odds though, I feel Camacho is worth a shot via 2nd round KO.
Ciryl Gane vs. Don'Tale Mayes
Mayes' opponent in the contender series was kinda low-level guy, but even he obliterated Mayes' foot. I mean he was still capable of moving alright, but he was just willingly taking the kicks. Gane is for sure gonna be more powerful kickboxer, even though he did seem kinda tentative in his debut. Gane is still raw as a MMA fighter, but he has potential, and Mayes has lost to worse guys.
Ciryl Gane by UD.
Muslim Salikhov vs. Laureano Staropoli
This should be a fun fight. Staropoli is a good kickboxer in his own right, but Salikhov has real class in the way he times his strikes and hits the button. He can punish Staropoli in the moments where Thiago Alves could not. His problem is low output though, and if nothing else Staropoli will be very active from start to finish and could just win a decision on volume, if Salikhov does not find the moments to really hurt him.
Muslim Salikhov by 2nd round KO.
Ashley Yoder vs. Randa Markos
So Markos is basically just a low-level gatekeeper at this point after complete dud of a performance against Gadelha. She definitely has a way to win here with a takedown and grappling, but Yoder has improved that aspect of her game, as well as having big striking advantage, even without the 6 inches she has on the reach. If Gadelha could dominate striking against Markos, then obviously Yoder will too. Markos is also getting up there in age so it seems likely we have seen the best of her already.
Yoder by UD.
Rafael Fiziev vs. Alex White
Fiziev got KO'd first time in his career in his last fight with a spin kick that landed flush. Getting put out like that is not a great look, but you have to feel we didn't see anything of him really, and the fact that shot did not completely stiffen him tells me he can definitely take a shot. White is a good striker on his own right, but more basic, it is less likely that he is gonna come out throwing spinning shit.
Fiziev via UD.
Enrique Barzola vs. Movsar Evloev
Both put high pace, Barzola more as a pressure boxer, Evloev more as a Khabib-esque grapplemachine. I feel Evloev is good enough to survive standing with Barzola, perhaps even match his striking, but has the advantage on the ground. Expect to see some relentless grappling until he either gets the finish or wins a decision.
Evloev via UD.
Maurice Greene vs. Sergei Pavlovich
Greene is pretty solid, but this is a big step up in competition. When I say solid, I mean purely from offensive standpoint, he has good fast kicks and sharp punch combinations. The problem is he is defensively very suspect, and facing a guy who fared fine in stand-up with Overeem and packs some serious punch.
This is heavyweight so it might ultimately go either way if one lands, but you have to feel Pavlovich leaves much less openings to be hit hard, and has so much power Greene will be lights out when hit. Pavlovich lost to Overeem cause his ground game was limited, but Greene does not seem the type to test that.
Pavlovich via 1st round KO.
Konklak Suphisara vs. Aleksandra Albu
Albu's second to last fight was back in 2017, and in her last fight she got subbed in a minute. Konklak obviously is a career atomweight that's also a UFC newcomer.
So there is very little real info to go by here. Both are suspect against grapplers and seem they would rather kickbox. Konklak is the smaller woman, but does not have big reach disadvantage, and in striking being few pounds lighter matters less. For her small size, Konklak does look like she has a strong base and can take a shot well.
Guess we will have a high pace kickboxing match here. Presuming Konklak cuts much less, she might end up beating Albu with just volume. Albu is strong, but Konklak is built more on endurance and comes from Tiger Muay Thai where fighters always are excellently conditioned. At 115 strength only gets you so far unless you are knocking girls out.
Loma by UD.
Raphael Pessoa vs. Jeff Hughes
Hughes had a pretty even boxing match with Duffee before it became an NC. Pessoa had pretty uneventful fight before he got subbed, even though he was supposed to be the grappling expert.
Again this is heavyweight, both of these guys have some serious power and can hurt each other, but I do think Hughes has this on the feet. Pessoa probably has more ways of winning though. Hughes seems like he is a solid grappler though, since he has never been submitted.
Pessoa by 2nd round Submission.
Main Event: Demian Maia vs. Ben Askren
This should be grapplefest, and in all likelyhood it probably will be. I mean I think it would be wise for Maia to stand and bang considering how Askren has no striking whatsoever. Maia at least managed to bloody up Colby Covington, as rudimentary as his striking offense also is. The problem is Askren probably won't want to stand even with Maia, his instincts are always just to go for takedown immediately and just keep trying until he gets it down.We have never really seen Maia defend a takedown, cause no one sane would try to take him down. So he probably won't have the greatest sprawl to keep it standing. So it will become pretty certainly a grappling match. It's hard to say who has the edge there, but I am leaning on Maia. He probably ends up on the bottom initially since Askren will be the more offensive party, but he has all the sweeps in his locker to reverse the position and start working on a submission.
Who knows though, perhaps Ben can defend against it. Should that happen, Ben is probably gonna win the positional battle and get a decision. Maia is more of a finishing threat and his age is against him, but he is just on another level generally speaking.
It ending up as another match like the Woodley fight or Covington fight for Maia is unlikely cause Ben is so basic on the feet. I mean I think Ben could defend takedowns well enough to keep it standing, but like I said I believe Maia has the better stand-up of the two. At the same time, perhaps Ben has worked on his stand-up hard, knowing he does not wanna grapple with Maia? Lot of questionmarks there.
Maia by 3rd round Submission.
Co-Main Event: Michael Johnson vs. Stevie Ray
Pretty much a gimme fight for Michael Johnson. He is much the better striker, and although he has been flatlined a few times, Ray does not really represent that kind of power. Could he grapplefuck Johnson to a victory? Perhaps, but I think it is unlikely. More likely is that Johnson just styles him on the feet for 3 rounds. The only questionmark really would be if Johnson's chin is gone after the last KO, but I doubt it, and it is not like Ray has not been KO'd as well, and by much lower level guys than Johnson.Michael Johnson by UD.
Frank Camacho vs. Beneil Dariush
I love watching Camacho fight. He is similar to Dariush's last opponent in that he is a heavy handed striker. Perhaps Dober had better takedown defence though, and Camacho is bit more technical and high volume as opposed to constant power like Dober. Either way, Dober had Dariush hurt, and he can definitely be hurt on the feet, but Dober ultimately fell to his grappling and worry is Camacho will do the same.
In short, Dariush has more avenues to win here, but I would not say it is impossible for Camacho to keep it standing and outpoint Dariush, or even hurt and finish him. Both definitely have clear avenues to win here.
At present odds though, I feel Camacho is worth a shot via 2nd round KO.
Ciryl Gane vs. Don'Tale Mayes
Mayes' opponent in the contender series was kinda low-level guy, but even he obliterated Mayes' foot. I mean he was still capable of moving alright, but he was just willingly taking the kicks. Gane is for sure gonna be more powerful kickboxer, even though he did seem kinda tentative in his debut. Gane is still raw as a MMA fighter, but he has potential, and Mayes has lost to worse guys.
Ciryl Gane by UD.
Muslim Salikhov vs. Laureano Staropoli
This should be a fun fight. Staropoli is a good kickboxer in his own right, but Salikhov has real class in the way he times his strikes and hits the button. He can punish Staropoli in the moments where Thiago Alves could not. His problem is low output though, and if nothing else Staropoli will be very active from start to finish and could just win a decision on volume, if Salikhov does not find the moments to really hurt him.
Muslim Salikhov by 2nd round KO.
Ashley Yoder vs. Randa Markos
So Markos is basically just a low-level gatekeeper at this point after complete dud of a performance against Gadelha. She definitely has a way to win here with a takedown and grappling, but Yoder has improved that aspect of her game, as well as having big striking advantage, even without the 6 inches she has on the reach. If Gadelha could dominate striking against Markos, then obviously Yoder will too. Markos is also getting up there in age so it seems likely we have seen the best of her already.
Yoder by UD.
Rafael Fiziev vs. Alex White
Fiziev got KO'd first time in his career in his last fight with a spin kick that landed flush. Getting put out like that is not a great look, but you have to feel we didn't see anything of him really, and the fact that shot did not completely stiffen him tells me he can definitely take a shot. White is a good striker on his own right, but more basic, it is less likely that he is gonna come out throwing spinning shit.
Fiziev via UD.
Enrique Barzola vs. Movsar Evloev
Both put high pace, Barzola more as a pressure boxer, Evloev more as a Khabib-esque grapplemachine. I feel Evloev is good enough to survive standing with Barzola, perhaps even match his striking, but has the advantage on the ground. Expect to see some relentless grappling until he either gets the finish or wins a decision.
Evloev via UD.
Maurice Greene vs. Sergei Pavlovich
Greene is pretty solid, but this is a big step up in competition. When I say solid, I mean purely from offensive standpoint, he has good fast kicks and sharp punch combinations. The problem is he is defensively very suspect, and facing a guy who fared fine in stand-up with Overeem and packs some serious punch.
This is heavyweight so it might ultimately go either way if one lands, but you have to feel Pavlovich leaves much less openings to be hit hard, and has so much power Greene will be lights out when hit. Pavlovich lost to Overeem cause his ground game was limited, but Greene does not seem the type to test that.
Pavlovich via 1st round KO.
Konklak Suphisara vs. Aleksandra Albu
Albu's second to last fight was back in 2017, and in her last fight she got subbed in a minute. Konklak obviously is a career atomweight that's also a UFC newcomer.
So there is very little real info to go by here. Both are suspect against grapplers and seem they would rather kickbox. Konklak is the smaller woman, but does not have big reach disadvantage, and in striking being few pounds lighter matters less. For her small size, Konklak does look like she has a strong base and can take a shot well.
Guess we will have a high pace kickboxing match here. Presuming Konklak cuts much less, she might end up beating Albu with just volume. Albu is strong, but Konklak is built more on endurance and comes from Tiger Muay Thai where fighters always are excellently conditioned. At 115 strength only gets you so far unless you are knocking girls out.
Loma by UD.
Raphael Pessoa vs. Jeff Hughes
Hughes had a pretty even boxing match with Duffee before it became an NC. Pessoa had pretty uneventful fight before he got subbed, even though he was supposed to be the grappling expert.
Again this is heavyweight, both of these guys have some serious power and can hurt each other, but I do think Hughes has this on the feet. Pessoa probably has more ways of winning though. Hughes seems like he is a solid grappler though, since he has never been submitted.
Pessoa by 2nd round Submission.
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