UFC 131: 5 Reasons Why Mark Munoz Will Beat Demian Maia

Since his drop down to middleweight, Mark Munoz has been on a run towards becoming a contender in the division.

Despite his loss to number current one contender Yushin Okami back at UFC Live: Jones v.s. Matyushenko, "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" rebounded.  He returned with a decision win over Aaron Simpson at UFC 123 followed by a big knockout of Ultimate Fighter alum C.B. Dolloway at UFC Live: Sanchez v.s. Kampmann.

Now, he will be looking to throw his name into the contender's mix when he faces former number one contender and submission specialist Demian Maia at UFC 131.

The bad news for Maia however, is that he'll be walking out of the cage without his hand raised and here are five reasons why.

Better Stand-Up

Photo courtesy of mmamania.com

As Demian Maia showed in his bout against middleweight champ Anderson Silva at UFC 112, his stand-up is is not on par with a good majority of the division.

Maia has been working on his primary weakness, but ultimately it won't be enough against Munoz.

As Munoz showed in his bout with C.B. Dolloway, he's got big-time power in his hands, so in order to avoid that, he'll be looking to take Munoz to the ground.

However, he may not have so much luck on the ground either though.

Wrestling

Photo courtesy of specker.photoshelter.com

Demian Maia is a magician on the ground, pulling submissions out of his hat left and right. He is an extremely talented grappler and his credentials are well documented.

However, Munoz is a talented wrestler in his own right. An NCAA Division I National Champion, Munoz is more than capable of holding his own on the ground.

A student and training partner of Black House and the Nogueira brothers, his wrestling skill made work extremely difficult for Penn State alum and up-and-comer Phil Davis when Davis fought Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Seattle at UFC Live Nogueira vs. Davis.

His wrestling has been a big help for the Black House and you can be sure, they'll return the favor in Munoz's training for Maia.

Ground and Pound

Photo courtesy of markmunoz.net

"The Filipino Wrecking Machine" is exactly that, a wrecking machine on the ground. Munoz has some of the most vicious ground and pound in the division.

Combining his heavy hands and high level wrestling makes him dangerous on the ground for Maia. If Maia prefers to take Munoz into his guard, he'll be in for a world of trouble, because Munoz's hands come down like bombs.

Conditioning and Overall Strength

Photo courtesy of pinoysport.com

Mark Munoz is a tank. The guy showed against Kendall Grove that he has the heart and gas tank to weather a storm and come back strong.

As a wrestler, Munoz also has the strength and stamina typical of wrestlers who have made the transition into MMA. He can handle what Maia throws at him into Round 3, but can Maia handle Munoz's relentless attack even past Round 2?

Multidimensionality

Photo courtesy of connect.in.com

Maia is a phenomenal Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, however, that is the extent of his talents.

Mark Munoz on the other hand, is not only an excellent wrestler, but is very capable standing as well as on the ground.

Training at Black House with both Big and Little Nog can almost guarantee that he can at least hold his own against Maia in order to use his wrestling. Having guys like Jose Aldo, Junior dos Santos and Anderson Silva, guarantees his stand up is more than formidable.

In the end, Mark Munoz's more well-rounded game will make the difference against the one-dimensional Maia.