Bleacher Report’s Matthew Saccaro:
One of the many fights at UFC 131 being buried under the Junior Dos Santos-Shane Carwin hype is an intriguing middleweight match between Demian Maia and and Mark Munoz.
Demian Maia is one of the best grapplers in the world, having won the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC, or just Abu Dhabi for short) Submission Wrestling Championship in 2007. As an ADCC champion and Abu Dhabi veteran, Maia’s ground game is to be respected and feared. Eight out of 14 wins have come by way of slick submission.
Munoz, while not one of the premier grapplers in the world, is a former NCAA Division-I wrestler, a heavy hitter, and a very strong middleweight. His nickname of “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” suits him perfectly.
When strictly comparing grappling credentials, the outcome of the bout seems like a no-brainer; Demian Maia will obviously submit Mark Munoz. He managed to submit a better wrestler in Chael Sonnen and will therefore have no problem with Munoz.
However, the fight may not play out this way.
Click here to read the entire article.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 131, including the latest UFC 131 results, fight card analysis, UFC 131 news and live reaction from Vancouver.
Posted by JP Smith