UFC 131 Fight Card: What Mark Munoz Must Do To Defeat Demian Maia
By Bleacher Report’s Blake Dreisbach:
As the dominant wrestler in the bout, Mark Munoz has a distinct advantage in choosing where this fight takes place.
Standing up, the NCAA Division I wrestler has a solid advantage in power, but Maia is consistently improving his technical skills as seen in his post-title fight bouts versus fighters like Mario Miranda and Dan Miller.
Munoz is one of the best wrestlers in the division, and since dropping down to middleweight, he has defeated Kendall Grove, C.B. Dollaway and another standout wrestler in Aaron Simpson.
If Munoz can keep this fight on the feet, he has a good chance at knocking out Maia. Maia showed a solid chin in his five-round fight with current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, but Munoz may be able to catch him off guard and knock him down and follow up with his powerful ground and pound, which is the only way I see him taking it there.
It will be the gameplan of Munoz that wins or loses him this fight, and it will have to consist of keeping the fight on the feet and only going to the ground if he feels Maia is hurt. Taking down Maia, especially in the first round, will be a great danger because of his top-level Jiu-Jitsu skills.
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