Why Demian Maia Would Be Much Better in the UFC's Welterweight Division

At some point in almost every UFC fighter's career, the fighter seems to hit a wall where he can't keep crushing opposition in the same way he once did.  As he scales up the ladder it not only gets tougher to keep improving at the pace needed, but the competition also improves as well.

This can partly explain why someone like Demian Maia, who was at one point winning Submission of the Night in almost every fight he competed in, is now winning and losing submissions.

Another part of it is that other fighters are now more aware of him and have more of his fights on tape to watch so they know what to look out for.

Even his knockout loss to Nate Marquardt could be the named the culprit.  He certainly stopped being so aggressive in trying to take his opponents after being clocked in the that fight.  In fact, that has led to him to getting to a decision verdict—whether it is a loss or a win—in every subsequent fight since then.

It may be that Marquardt knocked some fear into Maia that he hasn't been able to let go of yet and, like in many cases with other fighters, never will.

At least, not if he stays a middleweight.

Maia needs a psychological change more than he needs a physical one.  He has lost the edge that made him fun to watch and put fans on the edge of their seat, wondering how he would submit his next opponent.

However, Maia might now be so worried about improving his standup and not getting KO'ed that he lost not only what made him special, but what kept him winning fights.  He needs to believe his opponents have less power than he does and that they aren't that much of a threat standing.

A size advantage would do wonder for him.  Being able to stand a few inches above his opponents and knowing he weighs several pounds more than them would give him the mental boost he needs to start pulling off wondrous jiu-jitsu tricks for MMA fans once again.

It actually might not do anything that would help the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist—in, fact it might hurt him.

But his perception might change when it comes to his rivals and his chances of getting his chances of getting clocked.

On the flip side, it would also give fans a renewed interest in watching his fights.  For as boring and dreadful as his fight with Anderson Silva was, he was also completely outclassed in it.  There is certainly no call for a rematch even if he was winning fights in impressive fashion.

However, Georges St-Pierre is always running out of challengers and Maia could present a new and interesting opponent the likes of which the welterweight wunderkind hasn't stepped up against.

So, it seems Maia might have a future if he is willing to shed 15 pounds.  If nothing else, it's at least worth a try.