Earlier today, Demian Maia tweeted the following:Guys, now I ll moving down to 170 pounds. Next fight I ll be a welterw[ei]ght @ufcMaia has struggled recently, posting a 4-4 record over his last eight middleweight contests. The drop to welterweigh…
Guys, now I ll moving down to 170 pounds. Next fight I ll be a welterw[ei]ght @ufc
Maia has struggled recently, posting a 4-4 record over his last eight middleweight contests. The drop to welterweight should mitigate the size disadvantage he has faced against some larger opponents in the past, such as Anderson Silva and Mark Munoz.
Demian Maia’s drop to welterweight creates a handful of intriguing matchup possibilities for the Brazilian native. The following are five of the most intriguing.
Demian Maia has a secret. In 2009, Maia placed that secret in a strong box, which he latched with a combination lock. He then took the box and locked it in a safe, which he equipped with the most powerful cloaking device money can buy.After fully outfi…
Demian Maia has a secret. In 2009, Maia placed that secret in a strong box, which he latched with a combination lock. He then took the box and locked it in a safe, which he equipped with the most powerful cloaking device money can buy.
After fully outfitting this secret, Maia had it rushed to an undisclosed location under the cover of night and 100 armed guards. The secret was then loaded into a rocket and blasted into outer space.
For years, the secret has orbited Earth, seeking the coverage of passing meteors in an attempt to foil any telescopic activity from the home planet.
But now, rumor has it, the secret is set to fall through our planet’s atmosphere. It is coming back to Earth and will be revealed for all to see!
The secret? Demian Maia is good at jiu-jitsu.
Fans with particularly strong memories may recall Maia arriving in the UFC to the tune of five consecutive submission victories. This was before he decided to keep his ground-game a secret.
Since that time, Maia has compiled a pedestrian 4-4 record, never stringing together more than two wins at any time, and never once finishing a fight.
The bulk of criticism directed at Maia came after his sloppy performance against middleweight prospect Chris Weidman at UFC on Fox 2 this past January.
While the outing was perhaps Maia’s worst to date, save for the 21-second knockout loss against Nate Marquardt back in August of 2009, it was more than an off-night. It was the culmination of a plummeting decline.
Though it is undeniable Maia has had to deal with a particularly tough schedule over his last eight contests, the losses themselves are not the most troubling aspect of the mediocre results he has managed. What is troublesome is not necessarily the manner in which Maia has been losing, but rather the manner in which he has been fighting.
Rather than emptying his clip, attempting to take the fight to the mat where he owns an advantage over any opponent in the division, Maia has seemed content—nay, eager—to keep things standing.
While he recently exhibited boxing technique that has come a long way since his UFC debut, his striking has done little for the overall progression of his career.
Instead of using his newly developed capabilities to complement his wizardly jiu-jitsu, Maia has insisted on doing his best “Sugar” Ray Robinson impression inside the cage, every time he steps into it.
Unfortunately for Maia, his Robinson impression is only slightly better than my Dr. Evil impression.
Riiiiiiiight.
Maia has made the decision to drop to welterweight for his next contest, which still lacks a venue and opponent. But regardless of who it is against or where this fight takes place, it should signify the return of the Demian Maia that burst onto the UFC scene, submitting opponents with an ease rarely seen in high-level competitions.
If you do not see the correlation between the drop in weight and the return of Maia’s ground game, stay with me a moment.
Of Maia’s four UFC losses, three have come against fighters with a wrestling base. The other was against Anderson Silva, so he gets a mulligan there. Though one may expect wrestlers to find themselves in over their heads against a jiu-jitsu master such as Maia, his inability to crack the style can be easily explained.
The Brazilian has always been on the small side of middleweight. He lacks a wrestling background. He is not strong in the clinch. All of these deficiencies suggest an inability to take the fight to the mat. Especially against fighters apt at avoiding being put on their back.
But why the lack of effort?
It is quite possible that in addition to falling head-over-heels for boxing, Maia has entered the majority of his contests with a disbelief that he is capable of taking the fight to the mat.
His drop to welterweight, a decision that in itself implies Maia is ready to make some changes, will give him a size and strength edge over some opponents that he has never had before.
While these attributes are useful for a number of reasons in MMA, one that cannot be overlooked is their role in allowing the possessor to take his counterpart to the canvas.
Additionally, the UFC’s welterweight division is home to a great quantity of top contenders who base their success on controlling opponents on the ground. Charlie Brenneman, Rick Story, Jon Fitch, Mike Pierce, Jake Shields and Georges St-Pierre all come to mind.
The difference between this list and the top wrestlers at middleweight is that many 185ers used their wrestling in reverse against Maia, whereas he may actually have a striking advantage over these welterweights.
Maia, who is now the owner of the division’s most impressive jiu-jitsu credentials, may just throw a wrench in a lot of these fellows’ plans, if they hope to grind him to a decision rather than trying out their seldom-used boxing.
At 34 years old, Maia’s drop to 170 pounds signifies his last chance for a second UFC championship bout. Whether or not he can capitalize depends entirely on his ability to foster the implicit advantages he has garnered by the move to welterweight.
Mauricio Rua has run hot and cold since he debuted under the UFC banner back in 2007, never stringing together more than two wins at a time, though never suffering defeat in back-to-back contests.The inconsistency in performance thus far is attributabl…
Mauricio Rua has run hot and cold since he debuted under the UFC banner back in 2007, never stringing together more than two wins at a time, though never suffering defeat in back-to-back contests.
The inconsistency in performance thus far is attributable to a handful of factors, such as the health of his oft-operated on knees and strength of schedule. But regardless of the variables that have pushed Rua down the road of past glories, the Brazilian is still a relatively young man (30) in what should be the prime of his career.
As a former Pride Grand Prix and UFC champion, Shogun is firmly entrenched in a position that is both enviable and pitiable, facing nothing but top competition from here on out.
Whether or not his body holds up will be the decisive factor in determining whether Rua can transition into his early 30s successfully, trouncing competition en route to another title shot or shutting down and yielding to the next generation of contenders.
While assessing this projection will have to happen over a minimum of a few years, Shogun’s next performance will be a strong indication of what to expect over the course of his next several bouts.
Here, we will examine five possible opponents with whom Shogun can seek to rebuild his star over.
The UFC hasn’t been shy about tinkering with the format of its pay-per-view product over the past few years.Once upon a time, ordering the fights meant shelling out $45 for a five-fight main card.As the promotion began aggressively asserting its brand,…
The UFC hasn’t been shy about tinkering with the format of its pay-per-view product over the past few years.
Once upon a time, ordering the fights meant shelling out $45 for a five-fight main card.
As the promotion began aggressively asserting its brand, the UFC started offering an hour of free preliminary action (two fights) on Spike TV as a lead in to its pay-per-views. This trend was taken a step further when the remaining prelims were made available on Facebook.
Most recently, a variation of this model has come to define fight night, with one bout shown on Facebook, the remaining prelims via FX, and the main card on PPV.
Through all the tweaking and toying with the format, it was only the five-fight main card of the structure that went unaltered until February 26, 2012, when UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson aired a main card showcasing a total of seven contests over a four-hour duration.
While the seven-fight main card was an exploratory venture into uncharted territory for the UFC, the promotion’s maiden voyage was a glowing success, one that should chart a course for future imitation.
Dana White has given no indication that the composition will stick for upcoming shows, but writing off the idea would be foolish.
Formatting future UFC pay-per-view events on the model of a seven-fight card is something Dana and the rest of the UFC brass need to consider, as the structure comes with a bevy of benefits touching all branches of the promotion.
It is beneficial to the fans, fighters, and UFC alike. Its trial run in the Land of the Rising Sun exposed the imperfections of the standard five-fight card, which it should ultimately succeed.
The first problem of the previous main-card format stems from the three-hour time slot it is afforded.
Most cards feature four three-round contests and one five-round main event. This means that, at the very most, there will be one hour and twenty-five minutes of actual competition.
Add in promotional filler, entrances, interviews and breaks between rounds, and you’re looking at two-and-a-half-hours of content.
At the absolute most.
Your average UFC bout lasts approximately nine minutes. Adjust for time between rounds and you are looking at about one hour for five fights.
Now, the fights are not the only important aspect of the production, but they should be the focus. Given that they take up less than one third of the time allocated to a UFC pay-per-view, it seems that fitting in a couple of extra bouts should not be much of a challenge.
In fact, it is quite common to see a prelim battle replayed during the main card to help fill in the three-hour slot. While this is not an altogether poor idea, splicing in previously accessible content is a bit redundant for those who have already seen it, and are anxiously awaiting the night’s main event.
In the past, the UFC has alternatively shown replays at the end of broadcasts, but this does little to escape redundancy, as those who watched the prelims are shut down up to an hour-and-a-half before the scheduled conclusion of the card.
A seven-fight main card is an easy rectification to this problem.
Beyond eliminating the possibility of repeats, two additional fights would ensure that the main card hosts at least half the entertainment provided during the evening.
If you are one of the many MMA fans that likes building your Saturday night around UFC events, you know where I am coming from with this point.
Your big-screen is flashing out the Hi-Def, the surround sound is blaring, your buddies have their feet propped up on your coffee table, the top button of you pants has long been undone to help relieve you from that large pizza you polished off, and then it happens—ten o’clock rolls around.
Now, you’ve already been watching since 6:00pm, and while you can never get enough UFC action, it sometimes seems as though the main card is just an encore for the end of your night. After all, if it ends a bit early, say at midnight, the time you spend watching the main card is a fraction of the time you spend watching the prelims.
There are the those among us that don’t think twice about breaking out the wallet to watch the main card, but there are also those who are a little skeptical about laying down $45 once or twice a month for the last hour-and-a-half of a five-hour show.
If a fan is deliberating whether or not making that investment is a sound choice, realizing that they have already enjoyed two thirds of the show for free is unlikely to tip their hand.
This is where the benefits overlap for the organization and its fan base. While airing the prelims in the first place deserves a hearty “bravo!” for the UFC, it also presents a solution to correct its own scheduling problem.
A seven-fight main card.
Instituting this presentation format rewards those who make the decision to lay down their cash for the main card, while others turn out the lights at 10:00pm, satisfied with the four hours of freebies.
Given how outspoken Dana White has been on the issue of Internet piracy, it would seem he would be looking for any excuse he could find to reward loyalists who support the company in favor of indulging in ill-gotten streams. An additional two fights would go a long way in my book.
I know, I know, people who stream the fights for free would benefit as well. But, a measure of credence would be stripped from the justification that they would never have paid in the first place, thereby making piracy of no consequence.
The stable of UFC fighters would be another group of beneficiaries of a seven-fight main card becoming the status-quo for PPV events.
Fighting on a main card is a somewhat exclusive honor among fighters. A sign of making it big. By opening up four additional spots per card, four more fighters receive that honor every event.
Also, appearing on the main card typically means more revenue from PPV shares and sponsors for competitors.
A seven-fight card for pay-per-view events has a plethora of positives for fans and fighters alike, as well as for the UFC. The only question it raises is how the card should be structured?
One way to do it would be to mimic the scheduling of UFC 144, and expand the run-time of the main card from three hours to four, but this is not wholly necessary. And since not everyone would be so easily convinced that staying up until 2:00am is A-OK, fitting the seven bouts into three hours seems like a viable alternative.
The total amount of time for which the UFC 144 fight clock ran during its four-hour broadcast was one hour, 24 minutes, and 26 seconds. And that was with only two of seven fights stopping before the third round.
Given that the average length of a UFC fight, this event would seem to be on the lengthy side of what could be expected on a regular basis.
Besides, is an hour-and-thirty-five-minutes not enough time for the rest of the production?
The next question is whether the main card should receive its additional matches from the preliminary roster, or externally, meaning two fights would be added to the card as a whole.
Either way would work. My preference would be for two additional fights, but that’s just because I can’t vote against more fights.
My greed aside, bringing in additional fights would benefit the fighters. It would allow them to compete more often, which means more money, more exposure, and more opportunity.
UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans is set for April 21, 2012, and will usher in a reprisal of the standard five-fight card, with prelims airing on Facebook and FX.
It would come as a revelation to no one if I said Wanderlei Silva’s best days are behind him. It would warrant no gasps if I wrote that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is fighting past his prime. And it would come as no shock if you heard that Matt Hughes is …
It would come as a revelation to no one if I said Wanderlei Silva’s best days are behind him. It would warrant no gasps if I wrote that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is fighting past his prime. And it would come as no shock if you heard that Matt Hughes is on his last legs.
It is not my intention to construct a list full of fighters so obviously shells of their former selves that it makes MMA fans tear up recalling the glory days of heroes and legends passed.
Instead, this list will be populated by fighters that still rank as contenders; fighters still putting in competitive bouts with ranked opponents; fighters that may not so obviously be entering the twilight of their career.
As a note on the criteria for this list, no fighter with a lengthy losing streak, a la Kid Yamamoto or Yoshihiro Akiyama, will be included. Their recent records speak for themselves.
This list will only concern itself with fighters that may reasonably be considered threats within their respective divisions.
It is also necessary to explicate that this list is not meant to label fighters as “overrated.” Many of the inclusions are exceptional combatants that will continue to put on competitive and exciting fights for years to come.
More than anything else, this list is comprised of fighters that are currently, or were recently, considered title threats, but have seen their opportunities pass them by.
These fighters have risen to the zenith of their careers and will go no further.
UFC on FX 2 is set to go down March 3, from Sydney, Australia (it airs March 2 in North America due to time difference).The event will be capped off by a welterweight showdown between perennial top contenders Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann.Beyond the…
UFC on FX 2 is set to go down March 3, from Sydney, Australia (it airs March 2 in North America due to time difference).
The event will be capped off by a welterweight showdown between perennial top contenders Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann.
Beyond the headliner, the show from the Land Down Under will feature the first round of the UFC Flyweight Champion Grad Prix, as well as an additional eight contests.
Here, we will examine which bouts are most likely to receive Fight of the Night honors, as well as which fighters have the best chance at bringing home the Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses.
Demian Maia has a secret. In 2009, Maia placed that secret in a strong box, which he latched with a combination lock. He then took the box and locked it in a safe, which he equipped with the most powerful cloaking device money can buy.