When Demian Maia entered the UFC he was already known as a very scary BJJ practitioner holding a record of 6-0 as a middleweight. From there Maia won 5 in a row in the middleweight division all by submission before being stopped via knockout in the first round by Nate Marquardt. With one unanimous decision win over Dan Miller, Maia earned a title shot against middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Maia was unable to earn the victory, but lasted all five rounds is a sloppy contest from both sides.
Since then Maia went 3-2 in the middleweight division, with all fights since the Silva fight ending all via decision. The man that was known for finishing fights by consistently tapping out fighters in the first round seemed to be no more. Maia has since dropped down to welterweight where he has begun to excel
At UFC 148 Maia made his welterweight debut against top prospect Dong Hyun Kim and stopped him via injury in the first round. Regardless of the awkward finish, Maia still looked very impressive. Maia’s grappling is top notch and some of the best in all mma and in his last two fights has proven that the old Maia might be back.
Maia took on Rick Story this past weekend at UFC 153 in Brazil and was victorious once again in the welterweight division. Rick Story’s lack of respect at the weigh-inns and before the fight came back to haunt him as he was tapped out by a painful choke in the first round of the PPV’s first fight of the night. Literally watching Rick Story’s blood squirt down his face at the exact moment Maia sunk in the brutal choke, was direct evidence that the nasty BJJ game and intensity of Maia fight game is reborn.
The welterweight division should be on alert. There is a solid level of grapplers in the welterweight division that many fear. Some of these include Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Johnny Hendricks, and GSP. Now competitors in the welterweight division must add another name to the list, and this one may have them topped at the end of the day.
Watching fighters like Dan Hardy and others improve their game makes for some interesting match-ups in the future with a new top contender in Demain Maia.
Watch the video below to view some impressive submission highlights from Demian Maia’s career.
VIDEO COURTESY OF MrSpiderpigbegins2..