Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia | UFC Betting Sites

Tyron Woodley Avoids 24 Takedowns To Win Welterweight Snoozer

He may have been chasing a ‘money fight’ with Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz ever since he won the title over Robbie Lawler last summer, but welterweight champion Tyron ‘The Chosen One’ Woodley had to settle for surging jiu-jitsu artist Demian Maia for the co-main event of tonight’s (Sat., July 29, 2017) UFC 214 from the […]

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Although he may have been becoming more known for his claims of racism in the UFC rather than his performances as of late, where he had a tendency to alternate earth-shaking knockouts with tentative snoozefests, ‘The Chosen One’ was also quietly becoming one of few UFC champions who defended his belt against legitimately deserving top contenders throughout his reign. After a rollercoaster of a rivalry with Stephen Thompson where the fighters put on a “Fight of the Night”-winning brawl at last November’s UFC 205 before letting fans down with a letdown at UFC 209 this March, the Missouri native met up with Maia.

Often regarded as arguably the best jiu-jitsu practitioner to ever fight in mixed martial arts, Maia had won seven straight fights to finally earn another UFC title shot after failing in his bid against all-time great former middleweight champion Anderson Silva in an infamously bad bout in Abu Dhabi over seven years ago. Since then, the respectful grappling wiz had returned to his ground skill, submitting stalwarts Carlos Condit, Neil Magny, and Matt Brown during his streak.

Round One:

The pivotal 170-pound bout began with Maia pressuring to the fence. He went for a takedown immediately but Woodley shucked it off to applause from the crowd. Maia was cut over his eye and was bleeding as he stalked for a takedown again. Woodley defended yet again and landed a strike. Maia shot from far away, grabbing a leg, but was again stifled.

Maia landed a stiff shot of his own, but his latest takedown attempt wouldn’t work. The two traded shots, with Maia landing a straight. A bit of a staring contest came until Woodley threw a lazy overhand and a hook that was blocked. “The Chosen One” sprawled out one more takedown, and the second half of the round featured a much slower pace than the grueling first half of the frame between two fighters not exactly known for their bottomless gas tanks.

Round Two:

In the second round, Maia came out pushing the pace, but Woodley struck back with a strong rushing punch. Maia responded with his straight left, but Woodley then knocked him down with a hard strike. Referee Herb Dean made Maia stand up, and Woodley began taunting him. The champ stalked the Brazilian down, landing a right as Maia shot for a sloppy takedown. Woodley worked the body and broke free of more grappling as he avoided his tenth takedown. Woodley landed again and defended a takedown. Maia was throwing wild straight shots, but the titleholder avoided them as the action once again slowed toward the end of the round.

Round Three:

The third round kicked off with a takedown that had no chance from Maia. Maia threw his left but ate a counter right followed by another from Woodley. He scored a punch to the body and went with a right hook upstairs. Woodley taunted to boos from the crowd. The champ rushed forward with two right hands, but more boos soon came when the action once again slowed a brutal pace. Woodley was landing, but sparingly. Maia landed a left and Woodley a counter. The champion threw some straight right shots and Maia scored an inside leg kick as the third round ended to a loud chorus of boos from the fans.

Round Four:

Maia was bloody and bruised to start the fourth frame, his eyes nearly swollen shut. Woodley landed a body punch and Maia shot again, once again unable to complete his takedown attempt. Maia transitioned his left hand to a takedown attempt and was deep on a single, but again the champ escaped. Woodley landed a body shot and threw a straight right. He followed with a good shot and Maia landed an inside leg kick. The boos came back and Woodley landed two rights that snapped Maia’s head back for a split second as the fourth round ended with even louder boos.

Round Five:

The final round kicked off with a deep double leg attempt from Maia. Woodley wasn’t having any of it again, marking an 0/17 rate for Maia. It was soon 0/18, 0/19, and 0/20 with a matter of seconds as the crowd chanted “boring.” Glancing strikes were traded with Maia landing his straight left. The crowd began waving their cell phone flashlights in the air due to boredom. Woodley sprawled one more takedown try. The champion scored a stiff right hand and Maia a left, but the title bout wore down with Maia missing his 24th takedown attempt as the crowd roared boos down on the men.

Final Result: Tyron Woodley def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)

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UFC 214 Official Weigh-In Video

To the bewilderment of mixed martial arts (MMA) fans and media members across the world, tomorrow’s (Sat., July 29, 2017) stacked UFC 214 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, appears to be poised to go off without a hitch (fingers crossed), something that unfortunately hasn’t been the norm for a Jon Jones-headlined card in recent […]

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The all-time great, who was only beaten by himself and his outside-of-the-cage problems with drugs, will have yet another attempt at a comeback when he meets archrival Daniel Cormier, the stalwart champion who has won four fights in “Bones’” absence but was still beaten by the troubled ex-champ, in the UFC 214 main event. The co-main event features a closely-matched welterweight title affair between power slugger Tyron Woodley and peerless grappling whiz Demian Maia, why consensus women’s No. 1 pound-for-pound star Cris Cyborg meets former Invicta champ Tonya Evinger for the women’s featherweight belt in the event’s third title fight.

The fighters weighed in according to California’s increasingly strict weigh-in standards this morning, the results of which can be seen here. Now, the fighters will square off in the final media event of the UFC 214 build-up when the ceremonial weigh-in begins shortly at 8:00 p.m. EST. Watch the video streaming live right here:

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Five Reasons UFC Ratings Are Tanking In 2017

It’s no secret that the UFC is having a tough run in the first seven months of 2017. After a banner year in 2016 with multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events eclipsing the coveted one-million buy threshold, new owners WME-IMG are finding out just what it’s like to run the world’s biggest MMA promotion in a time […]

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It’s no secret that the UFC is having a tough run in the first seven months of 2017.

After a banner year in 2016 with multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events eclipsing the coveted one-million buy threshold, new owners WME-IMG are finding out just what it’s like to run the world’s biggest MMA promotion in a time of downward-trending PPVs without flagship stars Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey anywhere close to the octagon.

True, McGregor will return to the ring against Floyd Mayweather, on August 26, but that could be hurting the UFC’s actual numbers more than helping them. We’ll get to that shortly.

Regardless, both the preliminary card television ratings and pay-per-view buyrates for July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas were recently revealed, and the numbers ultimately amounted to some of the most dismal overall viewership turnouts the UFC has ever seen. Now, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes’ extremely late withdrawal from her championship bout versus Valentina Shevchenko most definitely caused the lack of buys, but the numbers are concerning nonetheless.

Things didn’t get better two weeks later when UFC on FOX 25 aired live from the Nassau Coliseum on July 22. Despite former middleweight champion Chris Weidman securing an emotional headlining win over Kelvin Gastelum in his hometown, the card had the lowest-ever ratings for a UFC on FOX event in overnight ratings, a number that rose to “only” the third-worst of all-time when the time slot spillover numbers for the main event were factored in.

That continued a disturbing decline for big FOX-aired cards in 2017, but those numbers are also simply indicative of the overall trend of the year, where pay-per-view rates have went down drastically in addition to TV-aired events and PPV prelim numbers.

There are several big underlying factors for this sharp and disturbing decline. On the eve of the biggest pay-per-view of the year, let’s take at the five most impactful.

Promoting Only McGregor & Rousey:

The UFC enjoyed their most lucrative two-year stretch in history from 2015-2016, a time when their biggest-ever crossover stars in Rousey and McGregor were winning big fights in dominant fashion. Rousey was being called the most dominant fighter in MMA, and McGregor won both the featherweight and lightweight titles while becoming the sport’s biggest star.

But that time period simply couldn’t be sustained, as Rousey infamously lost the belt to Holly Holm at UFC 193, following it up with another unsuccessful title fight in her 48-second loss to Nunes at 2016’s UFC 207, after which it appears Rousey may never fight in the UFC again.

McGregor is not gone; at least not in the same sense as Rousey. He’s obviously involved in his hyped-up boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, and while the UFC will obviously get a ton of attention and hype from that massive spectacle, it brings up one vital, overarching point – the UFC simply promoted only their top two stars in recent years, and while it clearly worked in that regard, it left them much too dependent on McGregor and Rousey for success, because their other fighters just aren’t bringing in any numbers at all.

If they ever want to get back to the level where they have their big draws and their mid-level stars; say in the time of dominant champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre where mid-level stars like Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson could still sell an in-between card for 350-400,000 buys, they’re going to have to diversify their promotional strategy.

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UFC 214 Preview & Predictions: Will Jon Jones Return To Glory?

We are now just one day away from the biggest UFC fight card of the year thus far, as UFC 214 is set to take place this Saturday night (July 29, 2017) live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The card will feature a staggering three title fights, with the main […]

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The card will feature a staggering three title fights, with the main event playing host to the long-awaited and highly anticipated rematch between light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and longtime former divisional ruler Jon Jones. In the co-main event, welterweight king Tyron Woodley will defend his title against grappling guru Demian Maia. Finally, Cris Cyborg and Tonya Evinger will also do battle for the vacant women’s featherweight title in an unprecedented third title fight on the card.

That’s not all for the main card, however, as fan favorites Robbie Lawler and Donald Cerrone will face off at welterweight, while light heavyweight contenders Jimi Manuwa and Volkan Oezdemir will also do battle. Both fights hold major title implications in their respective divisions.

Without further ado, let’s take a deeper look into the card we’ve all been waiting for:

Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones

Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones possess one of the deepest rivalries in the history of the sport, but when they first met at UFC 182 in Jan. 2015, Jones scored a one-sided decision victory.

Since then, due to Jones’ legal and personal issues, Cormier has claimed the undisputed title, won four straight bouts, and successfully defended that title twice. Sure, Jones has only competed once since his initial meeting with “DC”, but it’s also true that Cormier has only gotten older in that time, while Jones still sits in the prime of his career at age 30.

At the end of the day, this bout will feature the two best light heavyweights on the planet facing off, but in my opinion, Jones is simply the best 205-pounder in the world, and arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world period.

At UFC 182, Jones was superior to Cormier in every aspect of fighting. He out-struck Cormier on the feet, while doing great damage to his body. He was more successful in the clinch, and he even out-wrestled the former Olympian.

I expect a similar fight this time around.

Prediction: Jon Jones def. Daniel Cormier via unanimous decision

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Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia Set For UFC 214

UFC 214, which is set to take place on July 29, 2017 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, has received a third title fight. On tonight’s (June 28, 2017) edition of UFC Tonight on FOX Sports 1, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley confirmed that he will be defending his 170-pound title against red hot […]

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UFC 214, which is set to take place on July 29, 2017 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, has received a third title fight.

On tonight’s (June 28, 2017) edition of UFC Tonight on FOX Sports 1, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley confirmed that he will be defending his 170-pound title against red hot top contender Demian Maia on the card.

After brutally knocking out Robbie Lawler to become the welterweight champion last July at UFC 201, Woodley battled Stephen Thompson for 10 rounds in back-to-back fights. The two fought to a majority draw in an instant classic at UFC 205 last November before Woodley took home a decision victory in the rematch at UFC 209 this past March.

Maia, on the other hand, has won an incredible seven straight, with three of those victories coming by way of submission. During his winning streak, Maia has picked up victories over notable fighters like Neil Magny, Gunnar Nelson, Matt Brown Carlos Condit and most recently Jorge Masvidal.

UFC 214 is currently set to be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight, as champion Daniel Cormier and returning former champion Jon Jones will run it back for a second time. Cris Cyborg and Tonya Evinger are also slated to do battle on the card for the vacant UFC featherweight title.

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Dana White Rips Luke Rockhold: You Don’t Deserve Anything

In mixed martial arts, some fighters are quite verbal, willing to speak their mind and say whatever it takes in order to get what they want. Other fighters, on the other hand, are willing to remain quiet and are content with letting their fighting speak for them. Demian Maia, the No. 3-ranked welterweight contender in

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Demian Maia, the No. 3-ranked welterweight contender in the world, is a fighter completely against trash talking. He doesn’t say much, but he has quietly racked up seven consecutive victories, most recently scoring a split-decision win over No. 6-ranked Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211 this past weekend (May 13, 2017) in Dallas, Texas.

After the victory, Maia knelt before UFC President Dana White, begging for the title shot he so obviously deserved. White appeared to grant the Brazilian grappling guru his wish, saying after the event that ‘Maia earned it.’

While being verbal has seemed to help some fighters in today’s day and age, White also said that some fighters feel as if they deserve everything. The UFC boss specifically noted former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, who hasn’t competed since being knocked out by Michael Bisping last June, but recently voiced his displeasure with the UFC’s matchmaking in the 185-pound division:

“Listen, I was thinking about this when I talked to some of the media here yesterday: A lot of the guys are talking about deserve, deserve, nobody deserves anything. You have to earn it here, you know what I’m saying?” explained White during the post fight presser.

“These guys want to sit around, you got Rockhold screaming, “I deserve this…’ you got knocked out in the first round, you don’t deserve anything, you have to earn it and Maia earned it,” he added.

While Rockhold may have a point, as Bisping has experienced quite a strange title reign since winning the title, perhaps White is on to something here. The UFC has seemed to have strayed away from a rankings system in recent memory, making some question the legitimacy of the sport.

Maia receiving a title shot, however, could once again validate the UFC as a legitimate league. While being more verbal could have certainly propelled him to a title shot faster, the soft spoken and humble Maia has stuck to his guns, refusing to drift away from the values and morals that are buried so deeply inside of him. Instead, he’s taken out each contender the UFC has put in front of him since May 2014, submitting three of them.

Now, reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has unsurprisngly expressed interest in fighting other marquee names in an attempt to land the most lucrative matchup possible, but it seems as if Maia is the next challenger in line and as White said, he earned it.

What do you make of White’s comments? Do you feel as if Rockhold should take a different approach in landing a big fight, or is it reasonable that he would attempt to follow the lead of the many stars who have increased their verbal output in MMA over the last few years?

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