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Georges St-Pierre to face Demian Maia at UFC Fight Pass Invitational event in December

It appears that UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre has found an opponent for his highly anticipated return to the mats. ‘Rush’ announced that he would headline a UFC Fight Pass Invitational event in December, but was unable to offer up any details as far as who his opponent would be. Well, now we know […]

It appears that UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre has found an opponent for his highly anticipated return to the mats.

‘Rush’ announced that he would headline a UFC Fight Pass Invitational event in December, but was unable to offer up any details as far as who his opponent would be. Well, now we know that St-Pierre will square off with one of the most accomplished grapplers in MMA history, Demian Maia. The two-time UFC title challenger revealed himself as St-Pierre’s opponent in a post on social media.

“Every now and then, something comes up that still does really motivate you,” Maia tweeted. “Grappling @GeorgesStPierre will be a huge challenge & great motivation. You GSP are one of the greatest competitors ever, whom I respect a lot. I’m game! Looking forward to competing at @ufc invitational.”

Every now and then, something comes up that still does really motivate you.
Grappling @GeorgesStPierre will be a huge challenge & great motivation.
You GSP are one of the greatest competitors ever, whom I respect a lot. I’m game! Looking forward to competing at @ufc invitational.

— Demian Maia (@demianmaia) July 20, 2023

St-Pierre’s Opponent, Demian Maia, is One of MMA’s Most Accomplished Grapplers

While Georges St-Pierre was busy dominating the welterweight division, Demian Maia was making a name for himself at middleweight. Debuting at UFC 77, Maia scored five-straight wins, including a first-round submission against Chael Sonnen, en route to a UFC title fight with the legendary Anderson Silva. Unfortunately, their fight would go on to become one of the worst title fights in promotional history. For five rounds, Maia and Adesanya refused to engage with one another, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of fight fans and UFC President Dana White.

After failing to capture UFC gold at middleweight, Maia moved to welterweight and engaged in some memorable matchups with Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, and Rory MacDonald. Maia bested Jorge Masvidal in a title eliminator at UFC 211, earning himself a shot at then-welterweight king Tyron Woodley. Maia once again came up short, suffering a unanimous decision defeat. He went 3-2 in his last five fights as his contract with the promotion expired in 2021 amid back-to-back losses against Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad.

Outside of the Octagon, Maia is an accomplished BJJ practitioner, scoring titles at ADCC, the Pan American, and the IBJJF World Championships

Jim Miller Names One Matchup He’d Like Before Retiring

Jim Miller knows that the end of his fighting career is in sight, but the UFC veteran still has at least one specific opponent he’d like to face before hanging his gloves up. The 39-year-old was originally set to take on Gabriel Benítez at UFC Fi…

Continue Reading Jim Miller Names One Matchup He’d Like Before Retiring at MMA News.

Rockhold On His Grappling: It Would Be One-Sided If I Faced Maia

Luke Rockhold is feeling confident ahead of his return to action at UFC 278, and the former middleweight champion has even made a rather bold claim about his skills on that mat. The 37-year-old will appear in the Octagon for the first time in over 3 ye…

Continue Reading Rockhold On His Grappling: It Would Be One-Sided If I Faced Maia at MMA News.

Islam Makhachev Gives Demian Maia Friendly, Yet Stern Financial Advice

UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev has some friendly advice for Demian Maia when it comes to betting on his potential next fight against Charles Oliveira. Makhachev most recently defeated Bobby Green after originally being scheduled to face Beneil Dariush back in February. After allegedly turning down a short-notice fight with Rafael dos Anjos, UFC President…

Continue Reading Islam Makhachev Gives Demian Maia Friendly, Yet Stern Financial Advice at MMA News.

UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev has some friendly advice for Demian Maia when it comes to betting on his potential next fight against Charles Oliveira.

Makhachev most recently defeated Bobby Green after originally being scheduled to face Beneil Dariush back in February. After allegedly turning down a short-notice fight with Rafael dos Anjos, UFC President Dana White has hinted that he’ll have to fight in a re-booked matchup with Dariush before getting a lightweight title shot.

During a recent interview with MMA Fighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast, Maia explained why he feels Oliveira has a significant advantage against Makhachev in a hypothetical clash.

“If there’s a man to beat that type of fighter, it’s Charles, because Charles has [a good] guard [game],” Maia said. “You have to have [a good] guard to beat someone like that, enough guard to at least survive but also be offensive, to be dangerous there. Charles has that. Charles is a dangerous fight for that type of fighter. Not to mention he’s dangerous as hell on the feet.”

Oliveira has recently downplayed Makhachev’s wrestling prowess, despite being a top protégé of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nevertheless, Makhachev also has an underrated stand-up game that he has showcased at times in the Octagon.

In a recent tweet, Makhachev hit back at Maia’s evaluation.

“I remember the guy who bet his house and lost in my fight vs Hooker,” Makhachev replied to the interview. “Don’t do the same mistake [Demian Maia] save your money.”

Oliveira was stripped of his title after failing to make weight ahead of his UFC 274 clash with Justin Gaethje. He is now the top contender at 155lbs and could potentially face Makhachev for the now-vacant belt.

The UFC and White have seemed intrigued by a potential matchup between Oliveira and Makhachev. While some fight fans give Oliveira a shot to hand Makhachev his first loss, Makhachev is as confident as can be ahead of a potential title shot.

Who wins in the potential Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira matchup?

Continue Reading Islam Makhachev Gives Demian Maia Friendly, Yet Stern Financial Advice at MMA News.

Demian Maia Recounts The Time He Got Stabbed In Street Fight: “My Shirt Was Soaked In Blood”

Of all the athletes signed to the UFC, Demian Maia seems one of the least likely to get involved in a street fight. Despite being an elite athlete, Maia has become known over the years for his calm and respectful attitude. The grizzled veteran has competed in the UFC for 15 years, starting all the […]

The grizzled veteran has competed in the UFC for 15 years, starting all the way from 2007 to last June. Maia is widely regarded as one of the greatest grapplers to set foot inside the octagon and is a former title challenger in the promotion, once for the Middleweight title against Anderson Silva, and the other for the Welterweight strap against Tyron Woodley.

Demian Maia recollects a street fight in Sweden

In a recent appearance on the Inteligencia Ltda. podcast, Demian Maia recalled a harrowing story of the time he got stabbed in a street fight in Sweden.

“I’m in the corner of the club, having my beer, wine, but not drinking too much,” Maia said. “They turn on the light around 2 AM to shut the club. Since I was friends with the security guard, I thought I will wait till they clear up their job, and then I will move out.

“When I stood up, there were some guys from that gang there and saw me. They knew I was a guy from the outside since it is a very small time. And the guy came at me to push me.”

He had a knee injury at the time and believed he overreacted because of that.

“I overreacted because of my knee injury. When he came to put his hand on me, I threw an elbow at him. In his face. The elbow was so hard he landed on his own leg. I was like ‘God please help me, I hope I didn’t kill this guy.’ I got punched in the head because he was with other guys.” (h/t First Sportz)

Demian Maia gets stabbed in the belly

Maia realized the fight was about to escalate as the friends of the guy he struck jumped on the 44-year-old Brazilian.

“So I took 1, 2 punches and I step back to measure the distance,” said Maia. “But things are very fast. So I set up a guard and I thought ‘Okay, I am going to fight the guys. The security will arrive shortly, and I know who they are so they will break up the fight.”

“Suddenly I see a small guy coming up beside me quietly. He came and hit me in the belly. The guy didn’t hit me in the belly, he stabbed me, and I know it right away. Because these guys don’t know how to fight. He would never hit you in the belly, he’ll hit the head. As soon as it hit down here, I felt a knock and they ran away.

“I still didn’t know if I was stabbed. I just felt the knock, but I was suspicious. When the guys ran away, I did it here. I looked over quickly and my shirt was soaked in blood.”

It’s a crazy story of one of the most well-recognized faces from the UFC. Demian Maia has remained out of action since his last outing at UFC 263 but continues to participate in grappling tournaments.

Are you surprised by this story from Demian Maia?

Demian Maia Recalls The Time He Was Stabbed During A Bar Fight

Always mild-mannered, Demian Maia is probably the last person you’d expect to be getting into a bar brawl or any type of fight outside the octagon. However, in a recent interview on the Inteligencia Ltda. Podcast, the Brazilian legend told the story of the time he was involved in quite the altercation with a middle […]

Maia said that it all happened while he was training in Sweden and went out afterwards to a local club with some of his training partners. While Sweden is generally a very safe place to visit, this specific area was not as it was overwhelmed with gang violence by immigrants who had control over the area.

Demian Maia Says This Behaviour Was Out Of Character

At the end of the night as the club was turning their lights on to kick everyone out, Maia was pushed by one of the local gang members and instantly reacted with a vicious elbow, dropping the assailant on the spot. Maia said afterwards he instantly regretted throwing the elbow as he thought that he may have killed him and that he did it because he was just angry with where he was at in his fight career.

At this point, Maia knew he had set off a brawl and braced himself for the scuffle that was about to ensue when a man came up to him and stabbed him right in the stomach.

“Suddenly, I see a small guy coming up beside me quietly. All this I’m talking about was in five or six seconds, I don’t know. But very fast. The elbow, two punches. I walked backward, the guy came and hit me in the belly. This guy didn’t hit me in the belly, he stabbed me and I knew it right away.” (transcribed by Milan Ordonez, bloodyelbow.com)

Maia added that he reunited with his friends and was eventually rushed to the hospital, luckily escaping with no life-threatening injuries.

The BJJ black belt last fought against Belal Muhammad at UFC 263 this past June in his retirement fight where he fell via unanimous decision.

What would you have done differently in this situation if you were Demian Maia?