UFC on FOX 2 Fight Card: Demian Maia vs. Chris Weidman Breakdown

An injury suffered by Mark Munoz in the weeks leading up to UFC on FOX 2 caused some serious reshuffling of the card's featured fights. After Munoz was withdrawn from the card, Michael Bisping was pulled from his scheduled fight against Demian Maia to serve as Chael Sonnen's new opponent.

The move left Maia without an opponent. However, only a few hours later, after Rousimar Palhares turned down the opportunity to fight Maia on short notice, the up-and-coming Chris Weidman was pegged as the former top middleweight contender's new foe.

For Maia, the fight with Bisping was a chance to show that he was ready to make another run at the middleweight title. Against Weidman, Maia will serve more as a measuring stick for where the rising 27-year-old stands among the middleweight elite.

Obviously, Weidman probably would have liked to have more preparation time for such an important fight in his career, but Maia will be at a similar disadvantage, as he has been readying for a very different opponent in Bisping.

Before these two grappling aces enter the Octagon for their first appearance on network television, let's take a look at how they match up in every aspect.

Stand-Up

Striking

Neither Maia nor Weidman are known for their striking. While Maia's jiu-jistu background is well documented, Weidman is still growing as a mixed martial artist after becoming a two-time All-American wrestler at Hofstra University.

In his recent fight, Maia has showed much improvement in his boxing, though. After being outclassed by middleweight champ Anderson Silva, Maia has made a noticeable effort to improve his striking and it is beginning to show.

Weidman, who has been fighting for less than three years, is just beginning to make strides in his stand-up game. Since he is still growing—Weidman's ceiling may be higher than Maia's. Though, at this present moment in time, Weidman certainly has some work to do in the striking department.

It is rare that Maia would have an advantage over an opponent in the striking game, but this fight with Weidman could very well provide Maia an opportunity to once again show off his elevated boxing skill.

Edge: Maia

Chin

Undefeated in seven fights, Chris Weidman has not been forced to endure much punishment in any of his fights. Since Maia hasn't displayed any knockout power inside the Octagon, Weidman's chin will likely remain untested, for the most part, even after Saturday's fight.

On the contrary, Maia's chin has been put to the test multiple times. Though he was brutally finished by Nate Marquardt in August 2009, Maia ate some big shots in a title fight against Silva. While Silva wasn't doing much in the final rounds of their fight, it takes a pretty solid chin to make it to a decision against the middleweight titleholder.

In the end, the ability to take a punch probably won't be a factor in this fight. Both fighters are likely going to want to test their grappling ability against the other.

Edge: Push

Takedowns/Takedown Defense

Maia has finished many opponents on the ground, but, as with many jiu-jitsu practitioners, he isn't the most effective fighter when it comes to takedowns against elite wrestlers like Weidman.

An accomplished amateur wrestler, Weidman does possess the ability to take most middleweights to the ground. Eventually, this fight will likely wind up with Weidman on top of Maia. The question will be how long he will be able to stay there and fend off submission attempts.

Edge: Weidman

Ground Game

Grappling/Positioning/Control

There is no doubt that Maia and Weidman are two of the most accomplished grapplers in the middleweight division.

Maia is a former champion and runner-up at the ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships, while Weidman earned All-American honors twice during his college wrestling career.

Weidman has shown excellent top control in the early parts of his career, but the former Hofstra wrestler has also never been forced to control an opponent with the expert sweeps Maia possesses.

Grappling will be an important factor in deciding the outcome of this fight, but it's nearly impossible to give one fighter the edge until we see how Weidman reacts to competing against a top MMA grappler on Saturday.

Edge: Push

Submissions/Submission Defense

Though he hails from a wrestling background, Weidman's work with Matt Serra has led to back-to-back submission victories. Even with his improved jiu-jitsu, Weidman's submission game is a long way off from that of his upcoming opponent.

Even outside of MMA, Maia is considered one of the best jiu-jitsu practitioners in the world. Though Maia has gone some time without submitting an opponent in MMA, more than half of his victories in the sport have still come via submission.

Weidman's jiu-jitsu is growing by leaps and bounds, and he may be strong enough on the ground to negate the Brazilian's submission game, but that doesn't change the fact that Maia is clearly the better fighter when it comes to submissions.

Edge: Maia

Ground Striking

Once on the ground, Weidman and Maia are much more likely to go after submissions than trying to work their ground and pound. Neither fighter has finished a UFC opponent with strikes, so ground striking likely won't be of much significance in this matchup.

If one fighter has to be given an edge, though, it would likely be Weidman. Prior to joining the UFC, Weidman finished two opponents via strikes and also did some damage on the ground in his UFC debut against Alessio Sakara.

Edge: Weidman

Intangibles

Experience/Game Plan

With 11 more fights than Weidman, Maia has already been inside the Octagon with some of the best in the world. Fights against the likes of Anderson Silva, Mark Munoz, Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen have more than prepared the Brazilian to compete on this big stage.

Weidman, on the other hand, has only competed on a UFC event's main card once in his career. Also, opponents like Alessio Sakara and Tom Lawlor don't really stack up with the competition Maia has faced in his four years with the UFC.

As far as game planning and preparation go, Weidman and Maia both come out of solid training camps. Weidman has improved drastically in all areas of MMA under the tutelage of Matt Serra and Ray Longo. Maia, meanwhile, has been working to improve his striking with Wand Fight Team.

Edge: Maia

Strength/Quickness/Reach

Both Maia and Weidman were superior athletes prior to even beginning their MMA careers. Neither possesses unparalleled strength or speed, but they both are very intelligent fighters capable of tapping into every ounce of athleticism they have.

Weidman was gifted with a 76-inch reach, which gives him a four-inch advantage over Maia should he decide to keep this fight standing to avoid Maia's submission game.

Edge: Weidman

Conditioning

Maia has gone the distance in six straight fights, one of which being a five-round title fight, and hasn't appeared to fade in any of those appearances. Weidman also hasn't shown any visible signs of tiring during his career.

If this fight lasts 15 minutes, it is going to be fought at high level for the duration.

Edge: Push

Prediction

Both of these fighters are most comfortable on the ground for very different reasons, so expect the majority of the bout to be contested in that area. For the portions of the fight that are standing, Maia has shown enough improvement in his boxing to lead me to believe he would have a slight edge in the striking department.

Maia is two fights removed from a fight in which he suffered a controversial loss to Mark Munoz, a former NCAA champion wrestler. That performance and Maia's submission victory over Chael Sonnen in February 2009 was excellent preparation for a bout against Weidman.

The Brazilian should be able to stuff a few of Weidman's takedowns, and, in the event that he is dumped onto his back, Maia cartainly has the ability to make his opponent very uncomfortable with submission attempts and sweeps.

Weidman will score his points, but Maia is better prepared for this matchup of styles and should walk away with a narrow victory in a fight that will look rather similar to Maia's fight with Munoz.

However, in this bout, Maia will be able to keep the fight standing longer and force more scrambles once he is taken to the ground. 

Maia defeats Weidman by unanimous decision.