Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz: Who Will Impose Their Will?
Bleacher Report’s Scott Kennedy:
With the super fight between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre seemingly off the table, Chael Sonnen’s career hanging in limbo and Nate Marquardt throwing in the towel at middleweight, there is no clear-cut contender at 185 lbs. to challenge the winner of the Silva vs. Yushin Okami title fight at the upcoming UFC 134, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
That means there’s a lot at stake for both Damian Maia and Mark Munoz in their upcoming fight at UFC 131 in Vancouver, British Colombia on June 11.
A win would put either Maia or Munoz at the top of the middleweight heap, and an impressive win could mean a shot at the title.
For Maia (14-2) a title shot would be a chance at retribution for what happened in his first and only title fight at UFC 112, the organization’s debut show in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
As it now stands, Maia’s championship fight against Silva is one of the biggest debacles in UFC title fight history, causing a furious Dana White to storm out half-way through the match.
Must Read: 10 Burning Questions Heading into UFC 131
Few held Maia accountable for the bizarre events that took place that night, but there were many who felt that Maia didn’t belong in the cage with Silva in the first place. Maia got the nod after original number one contender, Vitor Belfort, pulled out due to injury.
That night, Silva, for whatever reason, chose not to engage with Maia. He spent much of the fight taunting and mocking Maia, who was left frustrated as he awkwardly stalked Silva around the cage.
Silva won a unanimous decision, doing enough to win the fight. As for Maia, although he did win somewhat of a morale victory by earning the respect of fans for trying to make it a fight, one would imagine he would’ve just as soon taken home the belt.