Tag: Fighting

Demian Maia has a secret. In 2009, Maia placed that secret in a strong box, which he latched with a combination lock. He then took the box and locked it in a safe, which he equipped with the most powerful cloaking device money can buy.

After fully outfitting this secret, Maia had it rushed to an undisclosed location under the cover of night and 100 armed guards. The secret was then loaded into a rocket and blasted into outer space. 

For years, the secret has orbited Earth, seeking the coverage of passing meteors in an attempt to foil any telescopic activity from the home planet.

But now, rumor has it, the secret is set to fall through our planet’s atmosphere. It is coming back to Earth and will be revealed for all to see!

The secret? Demian Maia is good at jiu-jitsu.

Fans with particularly strong memories may recall Maia arriving in the UFC to the tune of five consecutive submission victories. This was before he decided to keep his ground-game a secret.

Since that time, Maia has compiled a pedestrian 4-4 record, never stringing together more than two wins at any time, and never once finishing a fight.

The bulk of criticism directed at Maia came after his sloppy performance against middleweight prospect Chris Weidman at UFC on Fox 2 this past January.

While the outing was perhaps Maia’s worst to date, save for the 21-second knockout loss against Nate Marquardt back in August of 2009, it was more than an off-night. It was the culmination of a plummeting decline.

Though it is undeniable Maia has had to deal with a particularly tough schedule over his last eight contests, the losses themselves are not the most troubling aspect of the mediocre results he has managed. What is troublesome is not necessarily the manner in which Maia has been losing, but rather the manner in which he has been fighting.

Rather than emptying his clip, attempting to take the fight to the mat where he owns an advantage over any opponent in the division, Maia has seemed content—nay, eager—to keep things standing.

While he recently exhibited boxing technique that has come a long way since his UFC debut, his striking has done little for the overall progression of his career.

Instead of using his newly developed capabilities to complement his wizardly jiu-jitsu, Maia has insisted on doing his best “Sugar” Ray Robinson impression inside the cage, every time he steps into it.

Unfortunately for Maia, his Robinson impression is only slightly better than my Dr. Evil impression.

Riiiiiiiight.

Maia has made the decision to drop to welterweight for his next contest, which still lacks a venue and opponent. But regardless of who it is against or where this fight takes place, it should signify the return of the Demian Maia that burst onto the UFC scene, submitting opponents with an ease rarely seen in high-level competitions.

If you do not see the correlation between the drop in weight and the return of Maia’s ground game, stay with me a moment.

Of Maia’s four UFC losses, three have come against fighters with a wrestling base. The other was against Anderson Silva, so he gets a mulligan there. Though one may expect wrestlers to find themselves in over their heads against a jiu-jitsu master such as Maia, his inability to crack the style can be easily explained.

The Brazilian has always been on the small side of middleweight. He lacks a wrestling background. He is not strong in the clinch. All of these deficiencies suggest an inability to take the fight to the mat. Especially against fighters apt at avoiding being put on their back.

But why the lack of effort?

It is quite possible that in addition to falling head-over-heels for boxing, Maia has entered the majority of his contests with a disbelief that he is capable of taking the fight to the mat.

His drop to welterweight, a decision that in itself implies Maia is ready to make some changes, will give him a size and strength edge over some opponents that he has never had before.

While these attributes are useful for a number of reasons in MMA, one that cannot be overlooked is their role in allowing the possessor to take his counterpart to the canvas.

Additionally, the UFC’s welterweight division is home to a great quantity of top contenders who base their success on controlling opponents on the ground. Charlie Brenneman, Rick Story, Jon Fitch, Mike Pierce, Jake Shields and Georges St-Pierre all come to mind. 

The difference between this list and the top wrestlers at middleweight is that many 185ers used their wrestling in reverse against Maia, whereas he may actually have a striking advantage over these welterweights.

Maia, who is now the owner of the division’s most impressive jiu-jitsu credentials, may just throw a wrench in a lot of these fellows’ plans, if they hope to grind him to a decision rather than trying out their seldom-used boxing.

At 34 years old, Maia’s drop to 170 pounds signifies his last chance for a second UFC championship bout. Whether or not he can capitalize depends entirely on his ability to foster the implicit advantages he has garnered by the move to welterweight.

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