Tag: Preview/Prediction

UFC 131: Deamian Maia “Prepared for Anything” Against Mark Munoz

Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges reports:

Since losing to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 112, Demian Maia has never looked better. 

The Brazilian, who is currently riding a two-fight win streak, will compete against Silva’s fellow teammate, Mark Munoz at UFC 131. 

While speaking to TATAME.com, Maia opened up on his opponent and said he is training all aspects of the fight so that he is prepared for any situation during the bout. 

“With me, he’ll only have two options: or he’ll want to strike, or, in case he wants to take me down, he’ll use his ground and pound game, like he always does,” Maia said to TATAME.com.

“I have to train and be prepared for anything.”

Known primarily for his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills, Maia has been working extensively on his weaknesses, such as wrestling and boxing. Evolving in others parts of his game has made Maiamore confident in his approach to his bout with Munoz, who is a national wrestling champion. 

Maia said he acknowledges his opponent’s wrestling credentials, which why he believes Munoz is a greater challenge than his previous opponents.

“I guess it’ll be bigger because he’s coming from two wins and he had did a pretty tough fight with (Yushin) Okami, and despite he lost, he still is one of the best.”

UFC 131: A Look at the Strengths and Weaknesses of Shane Carwin and Junior dos Santos;

Bleacher Report’s Matt Juul looks at the fight:

Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz: Who Will Impose Their Will?

Bleacher Report’s Scott Kennedy:

With the super fight between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre seemingly off the table, Chael Sonnen’s career hanging in limbo and Nate Marquardt throwing in the towel at middleweight, there is no clear-cut contender at 185 lbs. to challenge the winner of the Silva vs. Yushin Okami title fight at the upcoming UFC 134, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

That means there’s a lot at stake for both Damian Maia and Mark Munoz in their upcoming fight at UFC 131 in Vancouver, British Colombia on June 11.

A win would put either Maia or Munoz at the top of the middleweight heap, and an impressive win could mean a shot at the title.

For Maia (14-2) a title shot would be a chance at retribution for what happened in his first and only title fight at UFC 112, the organization’s debut show in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

As it now stands, Maia’s championship fight against Silva is one of the biggest debacles in UFC title fight history, causing a furious Dana White to storm out half-way through the match.

Must Read: 10 Burning Questions Heading into UFC 131

Few held Maia accountable for the bizarre events that took place that night, but there were many who felt that Maia didn’t belong in the cage with Silva in the first place. Maia got the nod after original number one contender, Vitor Belfort, pulled out due to injury.

That night, Silva, for whatever reason, chose not to engage with Maia. He spent much of the fight taunting and mocking Maia, who was left frustrated as he awkwardly stalked Silva around the cage.

Silva won a unanimous decision, doing enough to win the fight. As for Maia, although he did win somewhat of a morale victory by earning the respect of fans for trying to make it a fight, one would imagine he would’ve just as soon taken home the belt.

Junior dos Santos vs Shane Carwin: Potential Fight of the Year?

Bleacher Report’s Nick Caron says yes:

UFC fans got terrible news last week when it was learned that Brock Lesnar would be replaced by Shane Carwin after dropping out of his scheduled UFC 131 fight with Junior dos Santos due to another bout with diverticulitis.

While Lesnar dropping out of the fight will certainly hurt the buyrate bottom line for the UFC, one could make the case that the main event of UFC 131 is actually better now. 

I know what you’re thinking—Shane Carwin lost to Brock Lesnar in his last fight, so how could Carwin vs. Dos Santos be better than Lesnar vs. Dos Santos? But remember, it’s not necessarily the rankings of the fighters that matter. As they always say, “styles make fights.”

At UFC 131, it will have been almost a year since the last time we saw Carwin step into a UFC cage. 12-0 at the time with all 12 wins coming by way of knockout or submission, Carwin was already the UFC interim heavyweight champion and looked to be on a warpath toward the official UFC heavyweight championship. 

Must Read: 10 Burning Questions Heading into UFC 131

But it was Lesnar, who was coming off of his first bout with diverticulitis, who stopped the Colorado native’s undefeated streak in its tracks. 

Now a year older and a year wiser, Carwin was scheduled to fight UFC newcomer Jon Olav Einemo at UFC 131 before the opportunity to fight Dos Santos arose. Though no fights in MMA are a slam-dunk, this certainly looked like an attempt to get Carwin back in the win column against a 35-year-old fighter with questionable standup skills.

Now lined up to face a fighter who mirrors his 12-1 career record, Carwin will need to significantly change his training regiment as he prepares for the event. Jon Olav Einemo is an absolute wizard on the ground while Junior dos Santos has spent about as little time on the ground in his MMA career as has anyone in the sport.