UFC Singapore is an early morning card from Asia topped by a great grappling-centric bout between Ben Askren and Demian Maia and Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe McDonagh (153-82) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Keith Shillan (117-67) | | | | | |
| Heath Harshman (149-94) |  | | | |  |
| Jay Anderson (148-95) | |  | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (141-97) | | |  | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (144-99) | | | |  | |
| Mike McClory (99-71) | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (141-102) | | | | | |
The UFC Singapore main event is one of the best wrestlers in the UFC taking on one of the best grapplers in MMA. Askren is coming off his first career loss after choking out Robbie Lawler in his Octagon debut. After losing three bouts in a row to perhaps the three best welterweights currently (Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Tyron Woodley), Maia has turned it around with a two-fight win streak. All but one writer picked Askren.
The co-main event is between struggling fighters Michael Johnson and Stevie Ray. Johnson has lost six of his last nine and is looking to rebound from being on the receiving end of a come-from-behind KO. Ray has lost three of his last four and was also brutally knocked out in his last fight. All but one writer picked Johnson.
Frank Camacho gets a step up in competition against Beneil Dariush. Camacho has three Fight of the Night bonuses in his first five UFC appearance and is coming off a knockout victory. Dariush is back on the upswing after going winless in three straight fights, as he has won in his last two appearances. Six of eight writers chose Dariush.
Ciryl Gane and Don’tale Mayes face off in a battle of young heavyweights. Gane is coming off a submission win in his UFC debut and is only 4-0 in his MMA career. Mayes is 7-2 and has stopped his last three opponents. All but one writer chose Gane.
Muslim Salikhov and Laureano Staropoli look to take that next step. Salikhov has knocked out his last two opponents in vicious fashion, and Staropoli is coming off a win over Thiago Alves. All but one writer picked Salikhov.
