Demian Maia Reveals UFC Offered Him Huge Fight

After their amazing title clash in the co-main event of UFC 205 last week (Saturday November 12, 2016), UFC welterweight champion ‘The Chosen One’ Tyron Woodley and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson may be meeting inside the Octagon for the 170-pound title once again, as their Madison Square Garden brawl ended in a draw. One man who

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One man who will be forced to wait for a shot at welterweight gold of his own is jiu-jitsu whiz Demian Maia, who is currently riding a highly impressive six-fight win streak against the elite of the UFC’s 170-pound weight class. Maia recently spoke to MMA Fighting in Brazil, however, to reveal that the UFC has actually offered him a fight with former champ ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler to pass some time while he waits for the situation with Woodley and Thompson to sort out:

“They offered me Robbie Lawler, actually they offered not me but Eduardo my manager, yesterday. I don’t understand what is happening because Dana said right after the fight that I could — that I was next, I could wait if they do the rematch with Woodley and ‘Wonderboy’ — sit and wait or get another fight. I don’t understand what’s happening. I believe in Dana’s words, also ‘Cowboy’ says he needs to fight me. So first they need to do the rematch.

“Let’s see if they do the rematch or not. If they really want to do the rematch, okay we can think about another fight, but if we need to fight again it would be great to fight on the same card as ‘Wonderboy’ and Woodley, because maybe somebody got hurt and I can jump in or even if nobody gets hurt we are in the same cycle.”

Demian Maia vs. Ryan LaFlare Highlights One fight that does interest Maia is a rematch from over six years ago, where the Brazilian suffered a unanimous decision loss to the great Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva for the middleweight title at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. Maia would want the bout to be at a catchweight, however, as he does not want a potential loss to ‘The Spider’ to affect what he has going on at welterweight:

“Anderson at a catchweight would be interesting because I think it is a fight people would like to see. That is the most fight that i remember most in my life, after that fight I changed as a fighter and a catchweight would be good because even if I lose I don’t think it would interfere too much in my welterweight division. And ‘Cowboy’ also, Cerrone, he asked to fight me so if he think he can beat me let’s do it. Let’s do it, not now, let’s do it if they don’t book my fight for the title.”

If Maia does indeed decide to wait for his title shot, he may be waiting for a while as UFC featherweight and lightweight champ Conor McGregor has found his way into the conversation for possible welterweight title challengers who are next up for Woodley. With Thompson also in the mix alongside Maia, the UFC’s 170-pound title picture is beginning to shape up rather interestingly.

Who do you think is next in line for a shot at welterweight gold?

You can check out Maia’s full interview with MMA Fighting here:

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Stephen Thompson ‘Definitely’ Wants Tyron Woodley Rematch Next

UFC 205 produced some of the most entertaining fights that combat sports fans have had the pleasure of witnessing in quite some time, as three title fights rounded out the historic card form Madison Square Garden in New York City. In the co-main event of the evening the UFC’s welterweight title would be on the

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In the co-main event of the evening the UFC’s welterweight title would be on the line as champion Tyron ‘The Chosen One’ Woodley would look to make his first career title defense against elite striker Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. The 170-pound title contest proved to be one of the most entertaining bouts of the year, where Woodley nearly ended the fight on multiple occasions, however, Thompson’s heart and will would prevail to see the contest go the distance.

After much confusion from the judges and their score card readings, the contest was declared a draw and ‘The Chose One’ would remain the division’s champion for the time being. During the post-fight press conference following the event’s conclusion, ‘Wonderboy’ stated that although the result was disappointing he is still looking forward to sharing the Octagon with Woodley once again:

“It was better than what it was in the beginning. Having him win the title and then they came back and said it was a draw. I take it,” Thompson said (courtesy of FOX Sports). “It’s not a win, obviously, so it’s definitely disappointing but hopefully we can do it again.

“Hopefully we can get this fight happening again. Getting up, getting ‘Fight of the Night’ that was exciting, I know the fans loved it.”

In the fourth round of the contest Woodley landed a vicious overhand right that put Thompson on the mat, to which ‘The Chosen One’ would eventually lock in a deep guillotine choke that seemed to spell the end for ‘Wonderboy’. Thompson would instead fight his way out of the hold, closing out the round in top position while reigning down a few shots before the closing horn.

Despite almost being finished in the fourth round by Woodley, Thompson believes he still took home the second, third, and fifth rounds to win the contest:

“Ended up getting my head out and threw a few shots right after that and the bell rung. In the beginning, (the choke) was very close, yes.”

“I thought I pulled it out in the last round just by out pointing him,” Thompson said. “He definitely took the first round. He took the first round that was it. Busted me up with a few good elbows, few good shots, I was a little hesitant during this fight.

“I knew he liked to explode in and throw that big right hand. Hit him with a few jabs. I knew how strong he was in the clinch position, which led me to be a little more hesitant closing the gap and I shouldn’t have done that. I should have let it all out.”

Now that the dust has settled on the controversial majority draw decision, Thompson is ready to jump back inside the Octagon for round six with Woodley in effort to capture his first career UFC title:

“I think the fans and everybody were really excited. I think they were entertained,” Thompson said. “Definitely want to do that again.”

While Thompson may want to get his rematch at the welterweight title next, recent circumstances have now landed UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor as a possible opponent for Woodley next. With Demian Maia also waiting in the wings for his title opportunity, will ‘Wonderboy’ get his wish and get the immediate rematch with ‘The Chosen One’?

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Conor McGregor And Stephen Thompson Show That Traditional Martial Arts Are The Future

UFC 205 is in the record books and it was an event for the ages. We saw Conor McGregor become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts in two different weight classes at the same time. It’s quite the accomplishment to say the least and though the Irishman may talk a whole lot of trash, he’s able to back it up with an excellent overall game. Stephen Thompson also acquitted himself well in the co-main event against champ Tyron Woodley. What do all three of these men have in common?

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McGregor’s decimation of Eddie Alvarez wasn’t simply captured by swinging his left hand and hoping for the best. It took timing, distance, anticipation, all traits of traditional martial arts like karate and taekwondo. McGregor’s style and movement can be directly linked to boxing and karate or taekwondo and you can see that in his movement. Conor McGregor is unique in his striking style because his footwork allows him to get in and out like karate, but his boxing skills allows him to strike in the pocket with comfort and ease. McGregor’s movement allows him to appear like he’s there to be hit, but a quick transition to his traditional movement sees him shooting out of range and returning with blistering fast combinations ala karate. But Conor McGregor isn’t the only man to infuse traditional arts into their style.

Stephen Thompson’s entire game is based on point karate. The bouncing, the in and out movement, all of it stems from karate. But where Conor McGregor was originally a boxing who mixed in karate into his striking style, Thompson is a karate stylist who learned how to box and box well. Karate can be very in and out on a linear plain. What Thompson has done is utilize that blitzing skill and learn to exit on another angle in order to counter his opponent. When he’s in the pocket, uppercuts, hooks and crosses are all in his arsenal making him as much a threat at short range as he is at long range. But Tyron Woodley also showcased that he has a bit of karate skills himself. His ability to close the distance with his own blitz showcases his own skills that can be traced back to traditional martial arts.

Karate is all about hitting and not getting hit and while that may not be the case at all times, the men involved in the main and co-main event of UFC 205 have been able to demonstrate just how effective that blitzing style can be. Muay Thai kickboxing still has its place in the sport and always will. But I’m a sport where constant movement and footwork could be the difference of being taken down or staying on your feet, traditional martial arts movement and skills is going to play a major factor going forward and could be the remedy for success in the future of MMA competition.

What’s your thoughts on karate and other traditional martial arts?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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UFC 205: Why Tyron Woodley Deserves Everyone’s Respect

If you caught the UFC 205 event that took place, you’re probably talking about Conor McGregor. The featherweight AND now lightweight champion put on a masterful performance, systematically breaking down the tough wrestler in Eddie Alvarez for a second round K.O. However, fight of the night went to the co-main event as two warriors went toe to toe for 5 rounds. In the end it was a majority draw, with Tyron Woodley retaining his title, but he was suppose to be knocked out. His one punch clunky style was suppose to be picked apart by Wonderboys movement and counter striking. But to no avail, we got ourselves a great fight and one of the best performances by Woodley we’ve ever seen.

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Props where props is due

If you caught the UFC 205 event that took place, you’re probably talking about Conor McGregor. The featherweight AND now lightweight champion put on a masterful performance, systematically breaking down the tough wrestler in Eddie Alvarez for a second round K.O. However, fight of the night went to the co-main event as two warriors went toe to toe for 5 rounds. In the end it was a majority draw, with Tyron Woodley retaining his title, but he was suppose to be knocked out. His one punch clunky style was suppose to be picked apart by Wonderboys movement and counter striking. But to no avail, we got ourselves a great fight and one of the best performances by Woodley we’ve ever seen.

I’m not going to lie, I picked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson to win that fight, hands down. Though Woodley is a tough competitor I just couldn’t see him getting away from Josh Thompson’s arsenal of striking as well as high fight IQ, and pinpoint accuracy. If you want to see what he did to the last power puncher he fought, just check out the video of him fighting Johnny Hendricks below.

But it didn’t happen that way. Tyron Woodley essentially found a way to out counter a counter puncher. He stood against the cage and waited for Wonderboy to engage first essentially freezing the karate practitioner, taking him out of his comfort zone. When Woodley did rush, he made it count, seconds away from ending it in round 4. His fight before this? He ended the damn near impossible to finish Robbie Lawler 3.0 in round 1 – like lights out ended.

But despite his octagon heroics what was most impressive Woodley’s personality change. We saw a different side of Tyron Woodley closing in on the 205 event. He started to get a little angry, he stopped trying to be nice, and he started to be real. I noticed this when asked about his war of words with Conor McGregor. His previously cringe worthy tough talk seemed legit, he wasn’t going to let anyone call him out and not respond. He finally stepped into the Alpha male role that his physique displayed but timid personality wouldn’t allow.

I’m not sure if he was reading self help books throughout his 18 month layoff, but this is a new and improved Tyron Woodley that cannot be denied. Like all growing pains, it took a little time for Woodley to find his groove, but besides the awkward “big money fight” call out, Woodley is starting to hit his stride. Let’s face it, you can win all the fights you want, but if the crowd isn’t behind you’re in for a lot of turmoil.

Oh, and as for who won the fight? While technically it was a draw, you’ve got to give it to the champion. A firm believer in “you’ve got to beat the champ to become the champion”, I don’t think Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson did enough to earn the strap. Either way, Tyron Woodley proved most of us wrong, so can we start embracing him as the true champion?

What do you guys think of the welterweight champ, does he deserve respect or is he still not on your radar?

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Video: Highlights Of Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson From UFC 205

https://youtu.be/e8RkQi1Lshg

While there may have been some confusion regarding the official ruling from the judges in the co-main event at Saturday night’s UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor mega-event at Madison Square Garden, no matter what wording was chosen, “The Chosen One” was the rightful owner of the UFC Welterweight Championship belt at the end of the evening.

In the second-to-last fight of what is going to be the new all-time record holder, by far, in virtually every business-related category out there for some time to come, “The Chosen One” Tyron Woodley managed to keep his championship status in tact by doing enough in nearly finishing opponent Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson on a few occasions in the fourth round to secure a Majority Draw ruling.

Featured above are full fight video highlights of the Woodley-Thompson co-main event from UFC 205, the promotion’s first-ever event held in the state of New York, which includes Woodley’s vicious knockdown of “Wonderboy” (with awesome slow-motion replays included) and near fight-finishing guillotine choke.

For complete UFC 205 results from Madison Square Garden, click here.

Poll: Was UFC 205 The Best MMA Event Of All Time?

With tonight’s (Sat., November 12, 2016) historic UFC 205 in the record books from Madison Square Garden in New York City, the collective MMA world can now bask in the glory of a so-called ‘super card’ that actually delivered to the point of legitimately being in the conversation for the best mixed martial arts event

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The card featured UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor making history by stopping lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez to become the first concurrent two-weight champion in UFC history in the main event, yet it also featured so, so much more. New York City’s first major MMA event also showcased the absolutely insane back-and-forth war between Tyron Woodley Stephen Thompson in the co-main event in addition to Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s entertaining women’s strawweight title bout versus a very game Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

The main card had more drama still, with Yoel Romero knocking out former champ Chris Weidman with a picturesque flying knee and Miesha Tate’s shocking retirement after her decision loss to Raquel Pennington. Finally, the prelims were home to even more exciting fights, as Frankie Edgar once again showed his legendary heart by surviving a huge head kick from Jeremy Stephens to outlast the power-hitting “Lil’ Heathen,” while top lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov picked up his first win over a top competitor in two-and-a-half years when he submitted Michael Johnson after a dominant wrestling display.

All in all, it was a legendary event that made a strong case for the best MMA event ever. Do you think it earned that lofty title?

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Props where props is due