Demian Maia: The Top 5 Reasons He Will Hold a Title

Demain Maia. Currently one of the top contendors in the middle weight division of the UFC. Though he has recently only gone 2-2 in his last four fights i personally believe he will be a champion before his UFC career is over. He is very unique in this sport coming into it with the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ever, he is like when GSP wrestling became apparent. No other fighters had ever faced anything like it.

Reason 5 Cardio

Demian Maia does have very good cardio. In all of his fights he has been able to keep up with all of his opponents and not gas out. This was especially impressive in his fight against Anderson Silva where he went all five rounds with the champion after being beaten and battered in the first two rounds he pushed the pace for the last three. He also participated in a striking war with Dan Miller for three rounds and won decisively; testing his cardio in a different manner. Fighters can be great without cardio (BJ Penn) however his cardio shows he is working hard and not just relying on his pure talent. He trains with Wanderlei’s legendary cardio coach known for his distinct methods like wearing scuba gear while you train. His ever improving cardio is one of the reasons he is a constant danger to his opponent, and the middle weight belt.

Reason 4 Heart

In Demian’s fights he pushes through the tough parts normally securing a submission victory by the end of it. Again, in the Silva fight we witnessed this. After being thoroughly dominated by the champion he continued to fight hard and press the action. By the end of the fight his strong will and heart had earned him the crowds cheers. While he did lose this fight he demonstrated how much he wants to hold a title belt. He was willing to take a beating from the best fighter in the world on a very slim chance he would get the takedown he had not even come close to finishing.  With that kind of heart and his work ethic the sky is the limit for this talented fighter.

Reason 3 Expierence

In his Mixed Martial Arts career Demian Maia has had only 15 fights and 9 of them have been in the UFC. His MMA record (13-2) and his UFC record (7-2) are very good. The experience that I am talking about, however, is his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition. In that regard he is by far the most experienced and decorated fighter in the UFC. He has competed in around 50 BJJ competitions and has place in almost all of them. Some people will argue that competing in BJJ does not give you MMA experience but I have to disagree. The nerves you feel and the affects they have on you and your performance are very similar. This allows him to be calm going into fights and understand what a win or loss means and how he should adjust.

Reason 2 Constant Improvements

Demian Maia has already had a few ups and downs in his UFC career. The most important of these is, of course, the Maia vs Marquardt fight in which Marquardt landed the punch heard round the world, ending in a 19 second knockout victory. Before that fight occurred Maia had only been training Muay Thai kickboxing and boxing only one day of the week. Ever since that fight he has been training striking every day and the results have been excellent. The best example of his improvement in striking was the Dan Miller fight. Instead of choosing to take Miller down and finish him with a submission he had a point to prove. He wanted to display his improved striking and beat Miller to the punch the whole fight earning a unanimous decision. He also has been training his striking with legend Wanderlei Silva.

Reason 1 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

The number one reason is, of course, his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His Jiu-Jitsu skills are what make him Demian Maia. Whether it be a mounted triangle beat down of Ed Herman of his throw and triangle of recent and soon to be 2 time title challenger Chael Sonnen. If Chael wins his upcoming fight for the title it will almost solidify Demian’s rise as I see this as an easy fight for him and the UFC will want to promote Chael’s revenge, just like the Edgar-Maynard fight. Some of the Jiu-Jitsu related accomplishments he has are:

• 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion
• 2007 Super Challenge under-83kgs Champion
• 2006 Pan American Champion
• 2005 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Runner-Up
• 2x World Champion
• 4x UFC Submission of the Night

His BJJ skills allow him to overwhelm other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts like he did in the Mario Miranda fight. Miranda a well round fighter with a BJJ black belt was dominated in every aspect in the last fight especially on the ground. If Demian gets you to the ground once, odds are you’re not getting back up unless someone helps you up.