The way Demian Maia started his UFC career, he can’t be surprised he had lofty, perhaps even unrealistic expectations, thrust upon him.
Maia came to the UFC in 2007 unbeaten and with several resumes worth of grappling accolades. His UFC debut? A “Submission of the Night” rear-naked choke against Ryan Jensen.
Then came a triangle choke against Ed Herman, RNCs of Jason MacDonald and Nate Quarry and a triangle win over Chael Sonnen.