“Be prepared to see me with my hands raised. I’ll defeat Demian Maia,” was quoted in the VancouverSun.com. If Maia is going to fulfill his prophecy he is going to stay off the ground.
Maia was quoted in the above linked article: “Of course, I always prefer to take the fight to the ground. It’s safer for me, it’s my area. It’s the fight that I’d like to do so I always try taking guys down.”
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.
His confidence in his ground game is certainly not unfounded. Maia won the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling Championship in 2007 with his strong and versatile grappling skills.
Maia is hoping a victory will give him a shot at the UFC middleweight title.
Muñoz, however, is no stranger to ground fighting:
I’ve got great guys I’ve been working with that I’m able to fit arm bars and triangles… so I’m seeing it all the time. I feel good about my ground game.
Munoz honed his ground game as a NCAA Division-I wrestler. You don’t get nicknamed “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” for nothing.