While Brazil has become one of the UFC’s biggest markets, fight cards in the South American country have still largely been comprised of competitors headed in the wrong direction.
Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 29 is one of those fight cards. While there …
While Brazil has become one of the UFC’s biggest markets, fight cards in the South American country have still largely been comprised of competitors headed in the wrong direction.
Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 29 is one of those fight cards. While there are some intriguing matchups, many of the fights that will be contested in Barueri, Brazil, feature combatants who will be competing for their UFC jobs.
Who are all the fighters in danger of receiving their walking papers heading into UFC Fight Night 29? Here are seven men who are on the hot seat heading into this Fox Sports 1 fight card in Brazil.
Demian Maia will look to improve to 4-0 in the UFC welterweight division Wednesday, when he meets former 170-pound title challenger Jake Shields.
The Brazilian made the move to the welterweight class following a loss to now-middleweight champion Chris …
Demian Maia will look to improve to 4-0 in the UFC welterweight division Wednesday, when he meets former 170-pound title challenger Jake Shields.
The Brazilian made the move to the welterweight class following a loss to now-middleweight champion Chris Weidman. His high-level grappling has led him to victories over Jon Fitch, Rick Story and Dong-Hyun Kim since the transition.
After losing back-to-back fights against Georges St-Pierre and Jake Ellenberger, Shields is on the rise again. The former Strikeforce champion has won his past two official bouts and had another win removed from his record due to a failed drug test following UFC 150.
Will Maia solidify his position as a top-five welterweight, or will Shields take a step closer to his second UFC title shot?
Here is a closer look at how the 170-pound grapplers match up in all areas.
At some point in their journey, every fighter dreams of becoming a champion.
When the pursuit of such things begin, that lofty goal is set somewhere in the far-off distance as the process of rubber meeting road gets underway. Natural talent, determinat…
At some point in their journey, every fighter dreams of becoming a champion.
When the pursuit of such things begin, that lofty goal is set somewhere in the far-off distance as the process of rubber meeting road gets underway. Natural talent, determination and an elevated skill set are all elements required to get through the initial stages, but those attributes have to be in perpetual evolution for success to be achieved at the highest levels of the sport.
Yet every now and then, a case will come along where a mixed martial artist possesses all the required tools—some in fact extraordinary—but is unable to lay claim to championship gold. While their abilities allow them to best a vast majority of competition, opponents who expose their one great weakness ring the death knell on their title hopes.
It is in the aftermath of these setbacks where adjustments are made, but even the most work will produce limited results. A fighter with an extensive background in jiu-jitsu but no history in stand-up disciplines will never become an elite striker, just as a fighter trying to develop wrestling skills deep into their career will never become dominant in that particular aspect.
The label of being a “well-rounded” fighter has become borderline cliche in this day and age of MMA, but over-used as it may be, it doesn’t take away from the necessity of a fighter being able to do all things well inside the cage. When the progress of these efforts seem to stall and gained improvements are no longer showing, the large majority of fighters settle into the realm of being good but just not quite talented enough to be the best.
Demian Maia is the exception to this circumstance…albeit one that took awhile to fully materialize.
The Brazilian grappling phenom brought his world-class jiu-jitsu portfolio and undefeated record to the UFC in 2007 where he wasted no time making his presence felt. Maia picked up victories in his first five showings, all coming by way of submission finish. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until suffering a knockout at the hands of Nate Marquardt at UFC 102, two years after his debut, when things began to take on a different shape for Maia.
Following the bout with Marquardt, the Sao Paulo native dove headlong into improving his striking skills. While he was making steady progress in that department, the impact it had on his performances inside the cage were telling. Suddenly, the “lights-out” submission expert was gone and a cautious “striker-in-progress” version of Maia appeared inside the Octagon.
While his dynamics on fight night changed, Maia still found enough success to earn an ill-fated title shot against then-middleweight king Anderson Silva at UFC 112 in 2010. Despite the bout turning into one of the strangest showdowns in recent memory, the concrete facts going in told the tale. With Silva being the most dominant and accurate striker in MMA history, Maia getting the fight to the ground would be his only hope.
But that scenario never materialized, and the unanimous decision loss for Maia ended up being the only predictable element of the bizarre main event in AbuDhabi.
He would bounce back following the loss to Silva, but he experienced mixed results and criticism along the way. Suddenly, he was the extraordinary grappler who couldn’t hang on his feet. Despite being one of the rare cases where a high-level BJJ practitioner was able to successfully transition into the top level of MMA, the holes in Maia’s striking game cast large shadows of doubt upon his ability to ever reach the top.
The book on Maia reclaiming his spot as a title contender was all but closed following his lackluster showing against Chris Weidman at UFC on Fox 2 in 2012. While neither fighter looked remotely impressive, the Ray Longo fighter stepped in on 10-days notice, and for that, he was given a pass for his exhausted showing in Chicago.
Maia wasn’t as fortunate. He resembled a shell of his former self in the bout with Weidman and it was clear his career had hit a wall in the aftermath. Where lesser fighters would have re-committed to going back to the drawing board to shore up the holes in their game, the 35-year-old Brazilian made a commitment of a different variety. And the results have been amazing.
Rather than attempting to get back on track as a middleweight, Maia decided to make the drop down into the welterweight division. While fighters switching weight classes to create a spark is nothing new, what made Maia’s situation so unique has little to do with weight limits and much to do with returning to his previous mindset.
He was never going to be one of the premier strikers in MMA, but he was already one of the most dangerous, if not the best, submission-based fighter on the planet. Commitment to that skill set rarely failed him inside the Octagon, and he set out on a new course at 170 pounds.
Maia made his official welterweight debut against Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 148 last July. He picked up a TKO victory over the Korean fighter due to a rib injury Kim suffered as a result of a takedown in the early goings and notched his first win at his new weight class.
In addition to defeating the “Stun Gun,” the resurgent Brazilian also collected victories over Rick Story and Jon Fitch. Maia made short work out of the Brave Legion fighter via neck crank in the first round of their tilt at UFC 153, and then he upped his stock substantially by dominating Fitch four months later at UFC 156 in Las Vegas.
Following his victory over the AKA staple, Maia found himself creeping onto the welterweight title radar. Just 14 months after making his 170-pound debut, he was on the cusp of breaking through into the championship tier of the highly competitive weight class. His re-invention was in full swing and his re-emergence as a dangerous threat did not go unnoticed.
“It has been great,” Maia told Bleacher Report. “When we get there and see the fans and how excited they are, that is what this sport is all about. It’s all about the fans and I love when the fans get excited for the fight. I also love fans that understand the ground game and the fans have always been great to me. They’ve always given me great feedback, but especially now that I’m at 170. It’s getting bigger and people in the U.S. and Brazil have been giving me so much support and feedback. Their excitement is great and it brings me a lot of motivation.
“I’ve felt better every time out at 170. With each fight I’m getting more used to this new weight and I feel this it is the best weight for me to perform at. Every time I feel better.”
That being said, there is still road to travel if he hopes to earn a title shot, and the next step on his journey will come next Wednesday night against Jake Shields at Fight Night 29. The bout will not only be a collision of two of the most highly regarded jiu-jitsu practitioners in MMA, but it will carry heavy title implications as well.
While Maia’s dreams of becoming a UFC champion are more alive than they’ve ever been, he’s not going to make the mistake of looking one inch beyond Shields. He understands the threats the former Strikeforce middleweight champion brings to the table and is looking forward to mixing it up with Shields on Oct. 9.
“I think it’s a great matchup, especially for people who love BJJ,” Maia said. “There is a lot of excitement about this fight in the BJJ community because people are expecting a great fight. I hope to put on a great display of grappling in this fight. We never know when we fight MMA, but I really like this matchup.
“This fight will be a great opportunity for me. But first off all, I have to face Jake Shields and that is what I’m focused on. This is the week of the fight and I can’t really think of anything past that. Jake is a really tough dude to defeat and that is what is right in front of me. I can’t think about the title right now but of course it is something I would like to accomplish.”
Leading up to the bout between Maia and Shields, much has been made about the opportunity to see two of MMA’s premier grapplers locking up inside the cage. Where Maia carries the flag for Brazil, Shields has touted his own brand of the discipline which he calls “American jiu-jitsu.”
While Maia certainly doesn’t dismiss Shields’ abilities on the ground, he doesn’t put much stock in the Californian bringing anything he’s unfamiliar with to the table.
“I think this name he uses for his style is for marketing,” Maia said. “I think he pretty much does BJJ just like I do. He trains with the Gracies in San Francisco and is very good with his BJJ. I really don’t care about names. But what I know is that he’s a very good BJJ fighter.”
Maia’s success inside the cage has hinged largely on his ability to apply his traditional BJJ skill set in the ever-changing environment of MMA. With the days of single-disciplined fighters long gone, Maia’s ability to adapt and execute have been impressive.
Where the jump into the live-fire world of punches, kicks and knees has given most grapplers fits in their attempt to crossover, Maia’s transition has been successful because it’s one he’s always prepared for.
“Since I started training BJJ for the first time, I was thinking about MMA,” Maia said. “At that time everything was kind of mixed together with Vale Tudo and BJJ and we trained a lot with punches, slaps, and kicks. We trained a lot of self-defense. As I was developing my techniques I would test them to see if they would also work no gi and in MMA.
“I tried to put techniques in my game that would work for everything…not just for jiu-jitsu, but self-defense and MMA as well. I developed my game around techniques that were efficient for everything.”
On Wednesday night in Barueri, Brazil, Maia will look to take one more definitive step to reaching his ultimate goal. His past reflects more success than most, but his future is now looking brighter than it ever has before.
Maia has appreciated every aspect of his journey—the victories and the setbacks—as they provided a continuous education which has lead up to the here and now. Shields is the next challenge standing before him, but it is one that will come as the biggest fight on a UFC card that will take place in his own back yard.
“It’s great to be the main event, especially to do so in my home town,” Maia said. “It’s very special. I think I’ve had 16 fights in the UFC, and the only time I’ve competed in Brazil was last year in Rio. Now I get to do it again in Sao Paulo. That is my home city and makes it even more special.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
UFC Fight Night 29 is coming soon, marking the return to Brazil for the company. Though there aren’t huge names on the card, it promises to be a fun night of fights.
The welterweight division figures to shape up with this event, as three of the top fiv…
UFC Fight Night 29 is coming soon, marking the return to Brazil for the company. Though there aren’t huge names on the card, it promises to be a fun night of fights.
The welterweight division figures to shape up with this event, as three of the top five spots on the card are reserved for 170 pounders. From Demian Maia to RousimarPalhares, the event promises to be important to a division currently ruled by long-time title holder Georges St. Pierre.
This event should be a good one. Here is one reason to watch each main card fight.
Jake Shields is a card-carrying member of the “Been there, done that” club in mixed martial arts.
The 34-year-old Tennessee native has competed on the sport’s biggest stages, locked up with the best competition the world has to offer and maintained a l…
Jake Shields is a card-carrying member of the “Been there, done that” club in mixed martial arts.
The 34-year-old Tennessee native has competed on the sport’s biggest stages, locked up with the best competition the world has to offer and maintained a level of success few of his peers can match. Shields has claimed numerous championships throughout his journey across the MMA landscape and built one of the most impressive resumes of the past decade.
He’s overcome adversity of personal and professional varieties, all with the goal of making the one accomplishment not yet realized—a UFC title—the crowning achievement in a storied career.
While he came up short in his first bid to claim championship gold under the UFC banner against welterweight king Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129 in 2011, the resilient former Strikeforce titleholder is bound and determined to re-establish himself as a legitimate threat to the throne.
Shields dove back into middleweight waters for one bout in 2012, but this year has marked a focused return to the 170-pound weight class, where he has every intention of making another run at the welterweight title.
While his first step was certainly a closely contested one, it was ultimately a successful one as well, as the former No.1 contender edged out TyronWoodley via split decision at UFC 161 back in June.
“It was a good step,” Shields told Bleacher Report. “Tyron (Woodley) is a really tough opponent and a tough stylistic matchup for me as well. Even though it wasn’t a finish, it was nice to go out there and get that win. It felt great to get back on track and start my push to get back towards the top.
“It felt good. He’s a big knockout guy and I showed that I could stand with him and still win the fight on my feet. That shows I’m making improvements in that area. I still have a long ways to go, but I feel every fight my striking is getting better.”
The victory solidified Shields’ place in the highly competitive ranks of the 170-pound title race and guaranteed his next challenge would come from higher up the food chain.
And that is precisely what has unfolded.
The former EliteXC champion’s next assignment will come against an opponent who has quickly established himself as one of the most dangerous fighters at 170 pounds in Demian Maia. Their tilt will serve as the main event for Fight Night 29, as the bout will feature two of the premier submission artists in mixed martial arts.
Where Shields has just started to build momentum in the weight class, the Brazilian grappling ace has dismantled all comers since dropping down from the middleweight division, as he’s collected three consecutive lopsided victories.
Despite not securing the finish in his most recent outing against former title contender Jon Fitch, Maia’s showing was perhaps his most impressive to date. He thoroughly controlled and out-classed the savvy veteran for every bit of the 15 minutes they shared inside the Octagon at UFC 156 back in February. The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) staple is a proven grappler in his own right, but that night in Las Vegas, Maia showed definitive proof his skills were on an entirely different level.
With the victory over Fitch, the 35-year-old former middleweight title challenger sent a stern message to the rest of the welterweight division, and it was one Shields was happy to receive.
After 14 years competing inside the cage, there isn’t much the “American Jiu-Jitsu” practitioner hasn’t seen. Nevertheless, he acknowledges the unique skill set Maia brings to the table, and his “game recognizes game” mindset has him motivated to prove he’s the better man on Oct. 9.
“I think it’s a great stylistic fight,” Shields said. “We are two of the best Jiu-Jitsu guys out there and I think we are both going to want to use those skills in this fight. I’m going to go out there and try to take him down and submit him, and I expect the same from him. I’m hoping for some great Jiu-Jitsu exchanges, but I’m going to be prepared in the stand-up game as well. I’m ready for all-out war.
“I’m not going to say what happened to Fitch can’t happen with me because a guy at Maia’s level can make anything happen. I think Fitch is a great opponent and a good grappler so watching Maia dominate him like that was very impressive. But it’s something I’m very prepared for. I think my Jiu-Jitsu is a lot better than Fitch’s and I mix my wrestling with it. Those are the skills I bring to this fight and I’m super-excited because Maia’s last three fights at 170, he looked amazing in all of them. That makes this fight that much more exciting for me.”
In addition to mixing it up with one of the toughest stylistic matchups in the welterweight division, Shields will face another unique challenge with the bout taking place in Brazil. The country’s passionate fanbase has developed a reputation for providing raucous support to their countrymen inside the cage, and this creates an electric environment unmatched on the current landscape of combat sports.
Nevertheless, Shields has been working his trade across the globe for more than a decade, and doesn’t believe the fight taking place in Brazil will be a factor.
“Of course it’s something I’ve thought about a little bit,” Shields said. “If I said I didn’t think about it at all I’d be lying. But it’s basically just a pain in the a**. I’d much rather fight at home or Canada, but it is something I just have to deal with. I’ve fought in Japan a bunch and competed all over the world. It’s just one of those things I put in the back of my mind and go out there and fight. It’s just going to be Demian and I in the cage, and the fans can’t do anything to interfere.
“I’m coming into this fight feeling the best I’ve ever felt. I’m ready for all-out war. I’m going to go out there and bring the pressure. I’m going to look for submission, knockouts and work for the finish at all times. I want to go out there, put on a great fight and beat Demian Maia.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
I complain about there being so many UFC events. And then when they don’t have one for two weeks, I’m like a dying guy in the desert. I need sustenance, you know?
Not to say that the UFC is the only game in town (and it isn’t), but you know what I mean…
I complain about there being so many UFC events. And then when they don’t have one for two weeks, I’m like a dying guy in the desert. I need sustenance, you know?
Not to say that the UFC is the only game in town (and it isn’t), but you know what I mean. And that’s why UFC Fight Night 29, going down Oct. 9 from a city I’ve never previously heard of in Barueri, Brazil, is like a cool spring rain.
The only thing cooler than the event itself is Demian Maia, the jiu-jitsu nonpareil who will, one could speculate, be fighting for a chance to fight for the welterweight title when he faces Jake Shields in the evening’s main event.
Don’t just get caught up in that one, though. There are 11 fights going down. Here’s a pocket guide to and predictions for each and every one.