UFC Fight Night 62’s main event was a grappler’s affair, and Demian Maia came out on top against Ryan LaFlare.
Maia got early takedowns to establish his grappling dominance, while LaFlare was not able to muster any offense of note to win the rounds. LaFlare did well enough to defend the submission attempts, but he was not able to stay off his back.
Late in the fight, Maia tired significantly more than LaFlare. The Brazilian tried to stall on the ground and eventually fell to his back in the waning seconds to waste time. Referee John McCarthy took a point from Maia for that tactic, but Maia was up on all scorecards regardless of the deduction.
The 25-minute grind capped off a fun night of fights in Brazil, and this is what we learned from the main event.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
The Maia takedowns were the most memorable portions of this fight. The fight dragged on in the final two frames as the fighters began to gas out.
LaFlare was not prepared for just how good Maia’s takedowns can be. He is not known for his wrestling, but his timing is impeccable, which makes his takedowns hard to defend. And once Maia has top position, it is difficult to get back up.
Maia went five full rounds with excellent ground control.
What We Learned About Ryan LaFlare
That he is not ready to be a part of the elite of the division.
LaFlare earned this shot with a perfect 11-0 record. His UFC career was decision after decision—but dominant decisions. This was the step up in competition he needed to prove he truly is a top-15 welterweight. He is not. At least not yet.
This will be a good learning experience. LaFlare can go back and fix some of the holes in his game that led to him being dominated by Maia. When LaFlare returns to action, we should see some improvements to his game that will likely make him a danger to finish the fight.
What We Learned About Demian Maia
We learned that he is not done yet. He looked very good.
This was a favorable matchup for Maia, in that LaFlare is a fellow grappler and lacks the elite athleticism of some of the other welterweights in the division. Maia was not forced into a fast-paced fight and was not out of his depth in the striking exchanges.
If Maia was truly done, then LaFlare would have put him out early—or at the very least controlled him for five rounds. That isn’t what happened. Maia was the better fighter. He looks the part of a top-10 welterweight.
What’s Next for Ryan LaFlare
This was a setback for LaFlare, but he shouldn’t go back to fighting the cellar dwellers of the division. For my money, I would like to see him fight Tim Means.
Means has looked great since returning to the UFC and also represents a good stylistic choice for LaFlare. Means is well-rounded but loves to make fights gritty. He will continually come forward and force LaFlare into a fight.
It makes sense to test both against one another, and it makes sense in relation to where they are in the division at present. The winner of a Means-LaFlare fight could then challenge a top-15 fighter later in 2015.
What’s Next for Demian Maia
Maia will want to make a move to a title shot, but the top end of the division is logjammed. That leaves Matt Brown.
Brown is still ranked in the top five of the division. A win over Brown should put Maia into a title eliminator at the very least. The other option UFC has is to not give Johny Hendricks the next title shot. If that happens, then a title eliminator between Maia and Hendricks makes sense.
I would rather see Hendricks get the title shot he earned and for Maia to draw Brown for his next outing. It has to be one of the two.
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