Demian Maia vs. Kendall Grove Set for The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale
Posted by Kris Karkoski on Sep 8, 2010 at 12:05 pm ET24 Comments
Fresh of a win last month at UFC 118, middleweight contender Demian Maia will look to continue his climb towards another title shot when he meets Kendall Grove on the Spike-televised main card at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale on Dec. 4 in Las Vegas.
Airing live on Spike TV, The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale fight card features the finals of the upcoming season’s lightweight tournament and also includes Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac.
Pictured: Demian Maia
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thats bullshhh, maia should get a far higher ranked opponent
I am somewhat surprised with this match up. I would not of seen this being the opponent that Maia would of received.
However, it does make for an interesting match-up. Of course we can assume that Maia is better on the ground due to past performances, but he has tired to stand and trade a little and Grove has a hell of a reach. Grove is no slouch on the ground either.
If grove can stop the takedown and either clinch, or pick Maia apart I think he has a chance. But a small chance ;)
Maia should take this one by controlling Grove on the ground and either scoreing a submission or a UD.
Prediction: Maia 1st Round Sub. Armbar.
Maia is gonna have to use his whole body for them long arms of Kendall!
Just win Maia and prove them haters wrong…
Kendall should take this one easy. I got Kendall wining this by Flying armbar ;).. No in all seriousness Stylistically i think Maia is going to have a terrible time trying to get past Kendalls Reach. Kendall should work on his jab for this one a keep the distance. If he can keep Maia on the out side and force him to shoot from a distance, then Kendall can hit him with a knee.
true, its actually a terrible match up for maia, but i’m pretty sure he’ll win anyway
Personally, I don’t understand why a guy that has only lost to 2 of the top 3 Middleweights in the UFC, and beaten the other one, is paired up with Mario Miranda, and then Kendal Grove. My only guess is this is just a continuation of his unspoken punishment for his participation in that infamous title fight with Silva…
…that I thankfully did not pay to see…
The only time I’ve ever wanted my money back from a PPV.
To be fair he was suppose to fight Belcher on the 15th. That was a pretty big named opponent coming off a lost.
I see Maia pulling guard in this one and winning via Camel Clutch :P
But seroiusly Maia should win this one if he don’t get caught by a knee.
Wow.
IMO this is a clear indicator of how far Demian Maia’s stock has fallen in the eyes of Joe Silva and Dana White.
A year ago, maybe more, the guy was being hailed as the Silva-slayer and next UFC 185 champion.
The guy is a sumission grappling superhuman, has lost only to Silva and Marquardt, and has a win by strangulation over 185 golden boy and top contender Chael Sonnen.
Now he’s somehow main eventing a TUF finale against Kendall Grove, who isn’t exactly “in the mix” at MW??
Either Maia needs better representation, or he needs to repair his relationship with DW.
Or maybe both, otherwise he risks getting lost in whats fast-becoming a very crowded and improving 185 weightclass…
im thinking the opposite they have tried now to give him two headliners in arow. his standup is getting better, but i still think that kendalls reach could be a big problem in this match for maia. and they tried to put him against belcher who has beeen in thge mix as of late. i think they know that grove isnt in the mix but what other big name could they put against him right now. its about ratings. and these 2 are good for the ratings.
Munoz could have been a Higher rank name to give them
sorry munoz is higher then grove,but not that much and more people know and care about kendall. munoz isnt a headliner name yet even if he is better then kendall!
Marky is better and better at utilizing this skill set.
Kendall frustrates me, he doesn’t seem to gameplan very well. I wish he WOULD open up more and use his reach, throw those jabs, but his stand up looks like he doesn’t want to get took down.
So maybe he does gameplan, I just don’t like it.
I don’t understand the reasoning behind the match-up, but I am very excited to see the fight. They each posess strengths that the other one doesn’t have. I imagine Maia will come in heavy favorite, but Grove will put up a heck of a fight.
People kendal grove bjj isnt terrible! even if maia does take it to the ground grove stands a good chance with him and groves striking is pretty good. I actually think this is a great matchup. Maia’s bjj is great but i dnt think he is untouchable on the ground. but itll be an interesting matchup.
Everyone’s Bjj is terrible [in comparison] when they’re stepping in with Demian Maia…
;)
It’s amazing how little interest I have in this match. And I used to like Maia’s matches…
If you have minimal interest in this fight thats a pretty clear indication that the UFC hype machine isn’t getting the job done, at least as of this posting.
Wait and see if you still feel the same way around Thanksgiving…
I don’t see why people are upset about the match-up. He lost a title fight and is starting his climb backup the mountain. let him get some wins piled up against whom ever for he can build his resume up for a title shot in a couple more fights. There is no one else really to give him anyway.
chael may have the best track record against the champ but maia gets my vote for #2 ahead of chael as he’d school chael most likely along with a lot of other guys.
grove might be an interesting match – if it goes kendall’s way he’ll work over maia from a distance and punish him whenever he tries to take it to the mat. probably it’ll end in a decision – tap or snap kendall ? you decide sort of thing.
I was hoping to see Maia vs. Leben at some point. I think that would be a logical next fight for both guys.