Author: Mike Moraitis

UFC Fight Night 29: Demian Maia’s Loss Ensures He’ll Never Fight GSP

Demian Maia was on the rise in the UFC after three straight wins coming into his matchup with Jake Shields, but the 35-year-old may have squandered any hope he had at earning a fight with Georges St-Pierre in the future with a loss at UFC Fight Night 2…

Demian Maia was on the rise in the UFC after three straight wins coming into his matchup with Jake Shields, but the 35-year-old may have squandered any hope he had at earning a fight with Georges St-Pierre in the future with a loss at UFC Fight Night 29.

The result of the Shields-Maia bout was a split decision, with Shields gaining the victory. It was his second such decision in his last two fights.

As for Maia, it’s back to the drawing board—and it couldn’t be a worse time, given his age. Maia was rising back to contention in the welterweight division after defeating Dong Hyun Kim, Rick Story and Jon Fitch. In fact, according to UFC.com, Maia was ranked No. 4 in the division and had a golden opportunity to move up.

While Shields did get the win, he is a tough fighter to match up with, so there’s a chance Maia won’t fall too far in the rankings. Even if that turns out to be the case, the fact that he lost to Shields proves he doesn’t deserve a shot at St-Pierre’s crown.

Maia was thought to have a great shot at facing and beating St-Pierre—or at least as great a shot as anyone has against the legend. Maia possesses great skills on the ground and has proven to be a submission master in the past, and he has the ability to control even the best wrestlers.

His victory over Jon Fitch was one of the more dominant victories Fitch has fallen victim to in his career, with the losses to St-Pierre and No. 1 contender Johny Hendricks being about equal or worse.

That helped put Maia in a special class, and it looked as though he was on track to get a title shot in the near future.

After all, second-ranked Carlos Condit had already lost to GSP, and third-ranked Rory MacDonald had dropped a match to Condit back in 2010. Maia’s ability to match up well with GSP also gave him an edge over the two fighters in front of him.

But all of that was erased Wednesday night. Shields got the better of Maia, and Shields lost by unanimous decision to GSP back 2011. Maia’s loss to Shields shows he doesn’t belong in the same fight as GSP now—or maybe ever.

At the very least, Maia took a big step back in his quest for a title shot. Should he be lucky enough to face GSP down the road, his loss to Shields shows he simply doesn’t have the goods to beat the champ anyway.

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Jon Jones Will Crush Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165

With all of the holes in Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson’s fighting style, there’s no question that Jon “Bones” Jones will crush him in UFC 165 on Saturday, Sept. 21.
The Mauler has has amassed an impressive resume in mixed martial arts with a 15-1 r…

With all of the holes in Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson‘s fighting style, there’s no question that Jon “Bones” Jones will crush him in UFC 165 on Saturday, Sept. 21.

The Mauler has has amassed an impressive resume in mixed martial arts with a 15-1 record, but it’s safe to say that he’s never battled an opponent close to Jones’ level. Gustafsson has defeated two quality opponents in a row in Thiago Silva and Mauricio Rua, both by unanimous decision.

But Gustafsson clearly lacks that killer instinct that allows him to knock opponents out. In fact, Gustafsson hasn’t scored a knockout since 2011, when he beat Vladimir Matyushenko.

A lot of that has to do with The Mauler’s inability to throw accurate punches when standing toe-to-toe with his counterpart. During his career, Gustafsson has landed a little under 36 percent of his strikes.

And, that lack of accuracy is exactly what will play into Jones’ hands.

Should Gustafsson miss often enough, he will leave himself wide open to one or more of Jones’ devastating blows. Such a misstep could lead to an instant and early knockout at the hands of one of the most dangerous strikers in the sport today.

If Jones isn’t successful in landing that killer blow to end this fight, he can use his elite wrestling skills to his advantage when the opportunity presents itself as a result of an ill-conceived blow. Once Jones takes this fight to the ground, it will only be a matter of time before Gustafsson is pummeled into submission or simply taps out.

Gustafsson‘s wrestling has improved over the years, and he is more than capable of holding his own on the ground against a normal fighter. But earning a takedown won’t be easy against Jones, as the light heavyweight champion has successfully defended 100 percent of takedown attempts against him.

It might be a developing strength of his, but trying to take this fight to the mat would be a foolish mistake on the challenger’s part. Gustafsson may not even have a choice, though, as Jones’ incredible reach advantage will keep The Mauler at a safe distance until Bones decides to move forward.

Gustafsson hasn’t fought since way back in December, so rust could be an issue, and that’s bad news because any fighter who takes on Jones must be at the top of his game. On the flip side, Jones fought as recently as April, so time off isn’t an issue there.

Anything Gustafsson can do, Jones can do better. It’s impossible to match up well with Jones because of all he can do in the Octagon, and that’s why Gustafsson doesn’t stand a chance at dethroning the king of the light heavyweight division.

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Henderson vs. Pettis 2: Why Smooth’s Title Run Will End with Showtime

UFC lightweight champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson will be looking to exercise the demons against Anthony “Showtime” Pettis at UFC 164, but the champion won’t be successful in his attempt to do so.
It was back in December of 2010 when Pettis narrowly e…

UFC lightweight champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson will be looking to exercise the demons against Anthony “Showtime” Pettis at UFC 164, but the champion won’t be successful in his attempt to do so.

It was back in December of 2010 when Pettis narrowly edged out a victory over Henderson at WEC 53, most notably thanks to an incredible kick that made all the highlight reels.

Since that loss, Henderson has won his last seven fights and has gained the respect of a champion, however none of his wins have been particularly impressive.

Henderson has gone the distance in each of his fights since the one with Pettis and hasn’t really experienced what can be considered a convincing victory. It’s pretty clear that Smooth has a problem finishing fights and that could be a big issue against Pettis.

While Smooth has been the aggressor in some of his previous matches against Frankie Edgar and Gilbert Melendez, the pace will be quite different against Pettis. Showtime will likely push the pace against Smooth and that could immediately make things uncomfortable for the champ.

Pettis won’t be overthrowing but rather he will keep moving forward all fight long as he attempts to knock off Henderson once again. Smooth will look to land his kicks, but it’s Pettis who has proven to be able to pick his spots and counter those strikes with strikes of his own. 

Not to mention, Pettis has definite knockout power, so a well-timed strike could end Henderson’s title reign before it gets to a decision. Henderson, on the other hand, doesn’t enjoy a similar ability as he hasn’t knocked anyone out since WEC 40 against Shane Roller.

What will be most important thing for Pettis is keeping his distance from Henderson and not allowing this to get to the ground. Granted, Pettis can still hold his own in that position, but he stands a far better chance of winning the lightweight crown if both are upright and Pettis can utilize his kickboxing skills.

Henderson will get his chances on the canvas, but it’s up to Pettis to take that out of the equation as much as possible and not allow prolonged periods of time to pass with Henderson on top of him.

If he can avoid such a scenario, Pettis will have ample opportunities to land combos on his opponent while scoring points en route to a victory. For Henderson, if he can’t score points on take downs and his kicks are met with a fierce response from Pettis consistently, there are few avenues he can use to beat Showtime.

The first meeting between these two was no fluke. Pettis matches up well with Henderson in many aspects and, after a victory for Pettis against Henderson in the past, Showtime has more than just a physical edge against Smooth in this one.

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