Demian Maia seeks 22nd Ultimate victory against Ben Askren at UFC Singapore

D. Maia (left) seeks his 22nd victory in Ultimate against B. Askren (left). Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc

MMA has been gaining more and more strength in Asia. This Saturday (26), Ultimate takes its entourage to Singapore, where 11 presentations will be held on a card headlined by the experienced Demian Maia and Ben Askren. The show is scheduled to start at 6:30 am (Brasília time) with the preliminary card.

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Demian Maia is the underdog against Ben Askren in the main fight of UFC Singapore

In the main fight, Demian will have the chance to reach a historic career milestone. If he wins, the São Paulo native will reach 22 Ultimate victories and touch the record holder Donald Cerrone, which today has 23 triumphs for the company.

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The Brazilians will have a good reason to wake up earlier, because, in the first fight, the Rio native Raphael Bebezão performs at the meeting of giants against Jeff Hughes.

Demian x Askren

The meeting between Maia and Ben will be marked by a true dispute of high technique and strategy. Known worldwide for being experts in grappling, the fighters will have the responsibility of showing which style will stand out in the fight.

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While Demian is famous for his excellent jiu-jitsu, Ben brings his commitment to winning the game in wrestling. The fighters have already stated that there is a good chance that the fight will take place on the ground and the one who makes the least mistakes and is able to take advantage of the opponent's error will win.

For the São Paulo native, the victory could represent his 22nd achievement in Ultimate. Far from a title fight, Demian, who is approaching the end of his career, at 41 years old, wants to leave the sport with another triumph on his victorious resume.

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Newly arrived at the organization and signed as one of the promises to hold the welterweight belt in the future, Ben, 35 years old, wants to erase his last performance for the company, when he was knocked out by Jorge masvidal in just five seconds in one of the most anticipated fights in the UFC 239, in June.

When he debuted for Ultimate in March, Askren had an impeccable resume. In 20 appearances, the American had never been defeated and brought with him achievements such as ONE FC and Bellator belts.

The defeat to Masvidal, however, called into question the athlete's talent, who needs victory to return to the elite of the category and, consequently, of the company.

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Big Baby x Hughes

The first fight of the show will be represented by two athletes in similar situations within the organization. Heavyweights recently arrived in the UFC, but have yet to win for the company.

Bebezão made his debut at UFC Uruguay, when he exchanged forces with Cyryl Gane, In August. The carioca came to put pressure on his opponent at the beginning of the fight, but, still in the first round, he ended up surprised with a submission that forced him to withdraw. The Brazilian's setback also marked his first negative result in his career, which currently has 10 appearances and nine victories.

Jeff, who debuted in the organization in March, needs to win after two appearances without having his hand raised at the end of a duel. In his last battle, the American ended up having an unexpected result, as the fight against Todd Duffee was ended after an illegal blow to the eye. The episode happened in September.

Hughes has 13 appearances in his career, with 10 wins, two losses and one fight without result.