Demian Maia is one of the most dynamic Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners to ever appear in the octagon. Unfortunately, Maia has one of most lacklustre stand-up games to be seen in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for years.

Prior to entering 2009, Maia had yet to lose and had already proved himself to be a threat to nearly any fighter in the world. The 2007 ADCC World Submission Wrestling champion took opponents down at will and seemed able to choose a submission, pull the trigger, and call it a night against anyone.

Maia’s suspect stand-up skills became apparent, however, when the second degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt clashed with Nate Marquardt at UFC 102.

Maia was knocked out cold after a mere 21 seconds. He never broke a sweat. Certainly one-punch knockouts are based largely on chance, but Maia’s “fight” against Marquardt showed mixed martial arts fans that Maia has a long way to go before he is a well-rounded competitor.

Maia’s next fight against Dan Miller was even more telling. Despite gaining a decision win at UFC 109, Maia put on a 15-minute, amateur-level kickboxing performance that did little in terms of expanding a rather modest-sized fan base.

Maia is one of the most accomplished grapplers in the world of mixed martial arts. But he has a long way to go if he intends to take on the seemingly insurmountable challenge of competing against current middleweight king Anderson “The Spider” Silva at UFC 112.