Photo by Rey Del Rio for FOXSports.com
Many expected to see former middleweight contender Demian Maia (15-4) take the fight to the mat versus UFC on FOX 2 opponent Chris Weidman this past weekend.
So it came as a surprise to see the Brazilian continually struggle to keep the fight standing at the Chicago event. Which in the end, proved his downfall losing to Weidman by unanimous decision on the FOX televised main card.
Speaking to Tatame.com, Maia explains that he believed so much in his hands that he felt he could knock Weidman out.
What are your thoughts about the fight?
Man, because they changed my opponent at the last minute I believed a lot my hands. I believed I could knock him out and I wanted to see if I could actually do it. I focused on that the entire fight and not focused on winning, but doing what I wanted to do. Actually I guess it’s easier fighting for the win. If I had worried about points… The guy took me down once, twice, these kinds of things.Was this the game plan for Michael Bisping or did you decided to do it after they replaced him?
No, the game plan was completely different. Against Bisping I was getting in there and working on grappling. When they’ve changed, since I was doing fine on the stand-up, I thought I could knock him out. Then I kept trying it all the time, but I could not fit a nice coup. I couldn’t do it, I don’t know what happen.How was the next day? You were on the first fight of FOX’s card, an important fight after a good win against Jorge Santiago. Did you talk to the UFC guys?
No. I guess there’s not much to say. I did what I had to do, I trained like I was supposed to, but I couldn’t do what I wanted to do at the time. Now I gotta train and be ready for the next one.