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#5 Ben Askren vs. Demian Maia (Welterweight)
The main event of the evening was stylistically a very intriguing fight. One one side you had one of the greatest BJJ practitioners in UFC history - Demian Maia - who had a long history of choking people out. On the other side, you had Ben Askren, a highly proficient wrestler whose reputation was dented in his last fight against Jorge Masvidal.
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Round 1: Maia came in using his hands. He fired in the straight lefts. Askren tried to close the distance and clinch with Maia. Askren got the clinch but Maia landed a few knees in the clinch.
They broke up but Askren worked for the clinch. Maia was inarguably the better striker as Askren looked lost while using his hands. Askren tried to changed levels or engage in the clinch.
Maia landed a few good combinations as Askren reached in for the clinch. Askren landed a few good uppercuts on the inside. A solid body kick from Maia. Askren attempted to take Maia down, but the Brazilian defended it from happening. Askren finally got Maia down and almost got caught in an armbar. Askren got his hand out and kept Maia down until the end of the round.
Round 2: Askren landed with a weird-looking body kick. The Funky One looked off the pace with his striking. They clinched again for a few seconds before breaking it up. Askren laned a big uppercut. Maia suffered a cut on his face.
Askren rushed in for a good combination. He tagged Maia with a nice right. Both men attempted wild uppercuts but missed. The fight surprisingly was still happening on the feet.
Askren changed levels and finally got Maia down. Maia trapped Askren's hand, got up, flipped over and landed in Askren's guard. That was smooth! Maia first looked for an Arm Triangle choke before going for the full mount. Maia the went for the RNC, before attempting a Kimura. Askren got his hand out again and neutralized Maia's threat on the mat by keeping him down until the end of the round.
Round 3: Askren locked in the underhooks and slammed Maia down to the mat. Askren landed a few strikes on the ground but Maia sprang right back up.
Askren opened up with his striking as he landed a body kick and a jab. He went for a spinning back fist but missed. A brief clinch happened again. They exchanged rights and lefts in the pocket
Askren clinched again. Good knees from Maia in the clinch. Askren got Maia down but the Brazilian used his BJJ to flip the position yet again, Maia effortlessly got Askren in the body triangle and worked towards a Read Naked Choke. He weathered Askren down, controlled his arms and seamlessly locked in his hands under Askren's neck.
He squeezed and Askren tapped out. However, the referee didn't see the single tap and had to stop the fight after Askren almost lost his consciousness.
Result: Demian Maia def. Ben Askren via submission (rear-naked choke) (3:54, Round 3)
BJJ wins it this time! It was a masterful display from Maia, who gave us another example of his slick skills as a submission specialist. As for Askren, we really feel he looks out of place inside the Octagon.
He probably came to the UFC a little too late, nonetheless, the Funky One has a few big decisions to make going forward.
