UFC on FOX 2: Michael Bisping vs. Demain Maia Breakdown

Coming off the utter destruction of Jason "Mayhem" Miller earlier this month, UFC middleweight Michael Bisping will look to extend his winning streak to five in a row against former-contender Demian Maia, as the two co-headline the UFC's second event on FOX at the end of January.

The winner of this fight will be second in line to fight for the middleweight championship, as fellow co-headliners Chael Sonnen and Mark Muñoz will battle for the next shot at Anderson Silva.

Bisping is taking the fight on short notice because he took very little damage in his bout against Miller and wants his shot at UFC gold.

Maia has gone 3-1 since losing to Silva at UFC 112, defeating Jorge Santiago and Kendall Grove in the process.  In his lone loss, Maia gave Muñoz a run for his money, showing an improved striking game.

Here is the complete breakdown for this exciting middleweight battle:

Striking

When Maia faced Muñoz earlier this year, he actually dominated the first round of their UFC 131 fight, showing vastly improved striking.

Despite being more well-rounded as a fighter, Maia still has a long way to go before getting to Bisping's level of striking.

A former kickboxing champion, Bisping is a very technical striker with knockout power.  In 14 out of 22 victories, Bisping has either knocked out or technically knocked out his opponent.

Bisping proved that he can overwhelm grapplers with his striking when he finished Miller at the Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale.

Advantage: Bisping

Grappling

Maia is one of the best and most decorated grapplers in the entire sport.

A third-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Maia has won many championships in the sport, including placing first at the 2007 ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships.

In his last bout against Jorge Santiago, Maia used his superior grappling to control the former Sengoku champion on the ground to take the unanimous decision at UFC 136.

Bisping is solid at wrestling, but his skills as a grappler are nowhere near Maia's level.  In the first round of his bout against Miller, he was actually taken down and controlled for a lengthy period.

If the fight goes to the ground, Bisping will have to deal with an even better grappler than his previous opponent, and will have more trouble getting back up.

Advantage: Maia

Submissions

Maia is not only one of the best grapplers in the sport, he is also one of the slickest submission artists in the game.

Eight of his 15 wins have come via submission, reeling off five submission wins in a row to start off his UFC career—winning four Submission of the Nights in the process. 

Maia has tapped out the likes of Chael Sonnen and Nate Quarry, using his very technical jiu-jitsu skills.

Bisping has only four submission victories, and none of them have come during his stay in the UFC.  It is clear who has the edge here.

Advantage: Maia

Strength

Bisping is slightly more imposing than Maia, standing two inches taller and having a four inch reach advantage over the Brazilian.

A former light-heavyweight, Bisping is the stronger fighter that has proven he can push his opponents around in the Octagon.

Bisping also has the more powerful hands, having 12 more knock out victories than Maia.

Advantage: Bisping

Cardio

Both fighters are seasoned veterans who know how to pace themselves in the Octagon.

Having gone to decisions many times in their respective careers, Bisping and Maia have the cardio to contend in the UFC.

Maia has gone through the rigors of a five-round title fight before, but seeing as this is only a three round battle, it should be a non-factor.

Advantage: Even

Variables

Bisping: There has been very little trash talking between Maia and the usually-outspoken Bisping.

In his last two fights, Bisping had verbal battles with both fighters, and used this energy to pump him up and take back-to-back dominant finishes.  It will be interesting to see how motivated he will be against a less talkative opponent.

I do expect that the prospect of becoming second in line for a title shot will be an added incentive to motivate Bisping.

Maia: The former top contender has drastically evolved as an all-around mixed martial artist since losing in his 2010 title bid.  

Showing a vastly improved striking game, Maia was still beaten by Muñoz when their bout went into the later rounds in the stand-up.  Bisping is not as skilled as a wrestler, but his striking is much better and should be an even bigger problem for Maia.

Also having the added pressure of possibly getting another shot at UFC gold, Maia will be game for this fight and will not shy away from going toe to toe with Bisping.

Prediction

In Bisping's last fight, analysts, including myself, thought that Miller's jiu-jitsu would be too much for the British middleweight.

Bisping proved us all wrong when he dominated Miller, but he did expose a small weakness.

In the first round of that fight, Miller was able take Bisping down and control him on the ground against the cage.  Maia is not only a better grappler than Miller, but he is also a better striker and will pose a huge threat to Bisping.

If Bisping doesn't keep the fight standing, Maia's high level, technical jiu-jitsu will overwhelm him.

Seeing how Maia is progressing, as long as he doesn't get caught in a stand-up war, he should be able to defeat Bisping.

Prediction: Maia via submission (third round).

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