Demian Maia gassed in the fifth round. He had a point taken away. But neither of those things affected the decision.
Maia dominated previously undefeated Ryan LaFlare on the ground en route to a unanimous decision (48-46, 48-46, 48-46) victory Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 62 in Rio de Janeiro. Maia put LaFlare on his back in every round, even the fifth when Maia got very tired and LaFlare briefly rallied.
Afterward, Maia (20-6) said he had staph infection before this fight and went three months without training. The Brazilian is one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners in all of MMA and said he wanted another main event or co-main event in Brazil next.
Chances are, most fans won’t be into that idea. Maia might have controlled the entire fight, but could not finish or do any real damage to LaFlare. By the fifth round, the 37-year-old was exhausted. LaFlare landed some big punches and body kicks. Maia also flopped to his back multiple times in an effort to get things down to the ground when he couldn’t take LaFlare down. The final one, as time ran down, was so bad that referee John McCarthy took a point away from Maia.
LaFlare (11-1) will have to back to the drawing board and not just work on his jiu-jitsu, but also his defensive wrestling. The 31-year-old Long Island native is known for his wrestling, but Maia, who has improved in that fact greatly, was able to take him down over and over again.
Maia reminded everyone that he’s a ranked welterweight and a pain for anyone in the division to go up against. But his style doesn’t necessarily translate to high-profile fights moving forward.
Speaking of welterweight veterans, Josh Koscheck’s attempt to come back in just three weeks after his last fight was foiled by Erick Silva. Koscheck did reasonably well for a little bit in the first round until Silva landed a pair of hard left hands, which eventually led to Silva winning by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:21 in the co-main event.
Silva landed a hard right up against the cage and Koscheck went for a single-leg takedown. Silva sprawled and then jumped a guillotine. Koscheck had no choice but to tap.
Silva (18-5, 1 NC) has now won three of his last four fights and his only losses have come to elite fighters at 170 pounds. Silva is still just 30 years old. Koscheck (17-10) has lost five straight. He was also choked out by Jake Ellenberger at UFC 184 on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles. Many people will be calling for retirement after this stretch from the 37-year-old Ultimate Fighter season one alum.
Leonardo Santos is quietly putting together a streak that even his teammate Jose Aldo would appreciate. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist beat Tony Martin by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:29 of the second round for his second straight win in the UFC. Overall, Santos (14-3-1) has not lost since 2009 for World Victory Road Sengoku in Japan. His lone blemish in the UFC was a draw against Norman Parke last March. Martin (9-3) has now lost three of four.
Amanda Nunes made quick work of Shayna Baszler in vicious fashion. A front kick to the body and multiple leg kicks hurt Baszler badly and Nunes finished on the ground with punches at 1:56 of the first round. Nunes (10-4) has won three of four with the only loss in that stretch coming against Cat Zingano at UFC 178 last September. She remains a contender in the women’s bantamweight division. Baszler (15-10), one of the pioneers of women’s MMA, is still looking for her first UFC win after two TKO losses.
The main card opened with a pair of slick submissions. Godofredo Pepey pulled off a dynamic flying triangle choke on Andre Fili at 3:14 of the first round. And Gilbert Burns came back from two rounds down to stop Alex Oliveira with an armbar at 4:14 of the third round.
The story of the prelims was a brutal stoppage call from referee Eduardo Herdy in a fight between Leandro Silva and Drew Dober. Silva had Dober in a guillotine choke, but Dober was safe, in half guard. As Silva was about to give up on the submission, Herdy waved the fight off, thinking Dober tapped. He had not.
Also on the prelims, Kevin Souza knocked out Katsunori Kikuno in the first round, Christo Giagos beat Jorge de Oliveira by submission in the first round and Fredy Serrano stopped Bentley Sylar via third round knockout.
Francisco Trinaldo picked up a unanimous decision win over Akbarh Arreola and Leandro Mafra bested Cain Carrizosa via unanimous decision in one of the most exciting fights of the night.