Report: Maia To Get Next Title Shot, Possibly in August
Demian Maia
Demian Maia, widely regarded as one the best jiu jitsu fighters in the world, will challenge the winner of April’s middleweight championship matchup between current title-holder Anderson Silva and challenger Thales Leites later this year, likely at UFC 102 on August 29th in Portland, Oregon.
Our friends at Cage Potato first reported the news on Saturday, citing sources close to the middleweight contender.
After a 5-0 start to his career, Maia (10-0) has won five-straight bouts in the UFC, submitting all five of his opponents and earning “Submission of the Night” honors in all but one of the fights. After wins over Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, and Nate Quarry, Maia most-recently submitted former WEC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen with a slick triangle from mount in the opening round of their contest at UFC 95 in February.
For the latest UFC rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section
Tags: Anderson Silva, Demian Maia, Thales Leites
Loading ...
good it will be sweet to watch silva knock mr pull guard into next week!!
Your a$$
Assuming this is true, I am really glad that the UFC picked either Maia or Marquardt to fight for the title next instead of fighting each other. I think Maia is more deserving of a shot before Marquardt because of his record and past success and also because Marquardt has already lost to both Silva and Leites ( I know, the Leites fight was not without contreversy). With that being said however, I think Marquardt stands the better chance against Anderson, assuming he beats Thales. But this is great news for the title picture. Unfortunately I think Anderson will pummell Demian into oblivion despite Demian being one of my favorite fighters.
I don’t think Silva will be able to use his clinch very effectively against Maia. As soon as he tries, I see Maia pulling guard and getting the fight right where he wants it – the ground. Silva isn’t terrible on the ground, but he’s no Leites or Maia.
dude are you kidding me! leites will try and stand ko’d second round. maia will do the same, silva has a great take down defense. sorry to say his biggest challenges were in henderson and franklin.
That’s a great scenario…I can totally see Silva going into the clinch and Maia pulling guard. I can really see that happening…and if does, I will be very impressed, Mr. dbiz.
I really think Demian has a very real shot. Anderson isn’t undefeated, he can be beat. Demian isn’t stupid enough to stand with him, but who’s to say he can’t catch a flyting knee bar ala Ryo Chonan. If you look at all the guys he’s beat none of them have had a better BJJ game than him. If Maia can get it to the ground Maia wins.
you talk about things that happened soooo long ago focus on his fights in the ufc, he is 9-0 in his last night fights all of his ufc fights are finishes!! its where he belongs! i think cote would ko maia! maia should fight marquardt, greg jacksons camp is the best in the world right now!
Yes his fights in the UFC have all been against standup fighters and wrestlers. No one has the BJJ skill as tight as Damian Maia. Everyone on this forum seems to over look that fact so people should be reminded that Anderson has 4 losses. Is he great? Yes, but it doesn’t make him unstoppable this is MMA anything can happen.
As for the greg Jackson thing, lets see how well they fair in the coming months cause I wouldn’t be shocked to see both their title holders losing to Brazilians.
this guy is good dont get me wrong but what happened to okami ???
If Anderson Silva gets pass Leites, and his next opponent is Demian Maia in august well that will be a good fight imo…. Silva is a BBJ blackbelt, and Maia as we all know is crazy good with his subs, but I believe that we would all agree that Maia has zero chance of being able to stand against Silva, sooo that leaves one option for Maia and he will have to attempt to close the distance which can become very dangerous when facing a striker like Silva….
I would have liked to Maia v Nate first but hey that doesn’t matter, I cant wait for all the people to come out of the wood work and say, “when is Anderson Silva going to fight someone good? The UFC is just protecting him”… The thing with people that think that way is, everyone has stated that BJJ is Silva’s weakness, everyone brings up the Chonan fight as an example of how vulnerable Silva is on the ground, soo hey you all ask for great BJJ blackbelt to fight Silva, well you can’t get much better than Demian Maia, o and I will say how unfair UFC is by looking past Okami, Anderson Silva must be aaaaa scurrred
I would definately rateher see Nate Marquardt vs Damien Maia first. Nate got ROBBED agaist Leites; even with the “2″ fouls, he won in my opinion. Thales will look as awkward standing up against Silva as Elvis Sinocic did against Ortiz.
Regardless, Nate vs Damien is just more interesting. Have that one at 98 or 99, then winner gets Anderson at 102. I think Maia needs one more quality notch on his belt before he’s ready; and Nate is just the challenge he needs to win to boost his game (although I see Nate winning that one).
I’m with ya, I think both guys deserve a shot or should at least fight one another first. I really like Maia’s attitude and style, but I think Marquardt’s just as deserving and a match between the two would have sorted the division out a little better than Maia immediately getting a shot.
But if they fight each other, you don’t have multiple fights lined up for Silva (assuming he keeps winning). I don’t understand why people would want the top 2 contenders to fight EACH OTHER. All it does is eliminate top contenders.
I’ve always wanted to see Maia v Nate cuz I think that Maia would win that fight and it also would most likely be a really good fight, but without the Maia v Nate fight all we will be hearing is how Nate would beat Silva this time yada yada blah….
But I definately agree with the eliminating of contenders and such DbiZ, good point
I can see both sides of this Maia v. Nate, and Maia getting a shot straight away. I prefer one of them getting the shot straightaway to ensure that their is a consistent line of deserving challengers for the belt, rather than what we have had with Cote and Leites getting shots at it.
some of u guys are a trip. first everyone is on the silva bandwagon then try to belittle what he has done. hes fought some good bjj guys like travis lutter and won. he hasnt had to really use his ground game cuz he’s dominated everyone he’s beat standing. oh yeah didnt henderson get choked out by him? no easy task.
BlackHouse greater than Team Quest bottom line
But ya I do agree that people don’t realize how good Silva has become on the ground since the Chonan fight, hell how much he has improved in all aspects of his game since then
Spot on. Silva is great on the mat, but that’s not what he’s about. He’s also a deceptive fighter. Look how he frustrated Cote with all his dancing around the cage until Cote fought Silva’s fight. But until another MW with Silva’s huge frame (the guy walks around at about 220) and similar skill sets comes along, he’ll wind down his contract with the UFC as undefeated. Silva has always been impressive, since his goatee sporting days; he just needs to pick on guys his own size.
I think Maia deserves the fight based on what he’s done so far. as for nate he should fight one more contender. franklin,okami, or the winner of henderson-bisping
maia is the top contender and most deserving, with marquardt right on the fringe…
this is great news to hear, I am a huge maia fan. I think maia will be the one to beat silva. his jj is possibly the best in the world and all he needs is one slip-up by silva to get a triangle or armbar. I would love to see maia get a triangle and make silva tap. Silva actually leaves himself open for an armbar when he goes for his muay thai grab and hold. all maia has to do is push silva’s arm out of the way and launch for an armbar while they are both standing. that is damn near impossible, but would be sweet to see. silva is not unbeatable and the one flaw in his game is his subdefense. maia has good striking power, and should win. I would have liked to see maia vs marquardt, but I am happy with this matchup. nate marquardt has faced silva and probably thinks he knows how to attack silva, but silva wont give him the same opportunites this time around. I see marquardt getting the winner of this fight next, and then cote or the loser of this fight getting the next shot. dont be suprised when maia submits silva. I cant wait for this fight. christmas comes early
He’s leaving himself open to a Silva knee right in tha nads!! I can see him jumping up and Silva throwing a knee like the on that put that axe-wound into Chris Leben’s head…then poor Maia spits out one of his testicles!
You will see a new champion in August.
I love Maia, I had the opportunity to meet him at UFC 87 in my hometown Minneapolis MN. He was a really awesome guy. When I shook his hand it kind of shocked me how strong his grip was. Just went to show me that’s pry why it’s so easy to toss his opponents around. After saying that I do believe my man Maia, won’t stand a chance against Anderson if he at least don’t try to sharpen up his striking a little bit it looked horrible {IMO} against Sonnen. He needs to get inside to have a chance of taking down Silva to have even a punchers chance in this fight… O yeah lets not count out Leites after all they will meet first. Imagine the jits bout we would have if Leites wins.
I agree turk, leites could win, and a title mactch against maia would be a sick jj match. I predicted leites by 2nd round armbar, but I am rooting for the upset. if leites doesnt beat silva, I think maia will. garrule, maia would be leaving himself open for a knee to the nads, but knees to the groin are illegal. imagine if silva gets a point taken away for the knee, then the fight goes to the judges and silva loses by one point. either maia or leites will submit silva. I would love to see maia vs leites, maia vs arona, or leites vs arona all 3 have sick jj.
Almeida’s jits is sick too…
This is exactly what I was afraid of. Now Silva will defend twice in a row against one-dimensional jiu-jitsu guys. No disrespect to Maia or Leites, but neither has shown significant enough stand-up skills and therefore neither is truly well-rounded enough to be a threat to Silva in more than one area. The entire world knows what gameplan Leites and Maia will bring into the Octagon against Silva, and I guarantee you Silva will be working very hard on his takedown defense. I would rather have seen Maia and Marquardt fight with the winner fighting the winner of Hendo / Bisping to determine the next #1 contender. As a matter of fact, I give Bisping a better chance of beating Silva than Maia, and I’d prefer to see rematches of Silva against Marquardt or Hendo before seeing Silva vs. Maia.
I think that if you have Maia vs. Marquardt at either 99 or 101, then Hendo/Bisping at 100, then winner/Winner at UFC somewhere along 103-105 then it will be some time around January before the belt gets defended again after April 18th. That is entirely too long to go, and then after that, you have to develop another number 1 out of thin air, or throw someone that no one really believes deserves the shot in there. It’s a much better plan to have the belt defended in April, then again in August, then against Bisping/Hendo winner maybe on the end of the year card. Then you still have Marquardt available for a shot again in April 2010(assuming he keeps winning).
Maia, would choke the sheott out of Bisping. Bisping’s ground game is at the same level as Maia’s striking. We need to see the belt defended at least 2 ta 3 times a year IMO.
The middleweight division is very hard to deal with right now because i mean you got three guys who all have great arguments thatthey should get a shot…but i think joe silva made the right choice with maia because maia has the best shot at beating the spider IMO
This is good news. Maia is well deserving of a title shot. The winner between Henderson and Bisbing looks to be next after Maia.
It’s going to be tough for Anderson Silva to remain champ now. Maia, as we’ve seen can make anyone tap. Assuming Silva wins at “Redemption”, he’s still going to face Maia and after that(if he beats Maia) he’ll go against Henderson or Bisbing.
I don’t see Silva keeping his title into 2010. I don’t think he can defend the title 7 or 8 times. Anyway, i’d like to see Maia vs. Silva to see if Maia would be able to beat Silva, that match-up interest me a lot.
Yeah dude, it’s going to be tough for silva to stay champ. He’s got some hungry and talented challengers to face. I have to say that the mw division is waaay better then it was a year ago now that hendo, maia and marqardt have stepped up.
After hendo beats bisping’s arse, he should get a shot. I’d like to see marquardt vs goran rejlic.
Maia is an awesome jitz dude and from what it looks like, the mw division is stacked with grapples and jitz guys so silva has got his work cut out for him.
Man, Yushin Okami is getting completely screwed over here. He would have fought Anderson at UFC 90 instead of Cote if he hadn’t injured his hand, and then they gave him Lister, and now they have given him Miller. My guess is that the winner of Okami / Miller fights Marquardt to determine the #3 contender, behind the winner of Bisping / Hendo (number 2 contender) and Maia (number 1 contender.) And thats how the MW division will look for the next year or so.
mburtoni, dude you nailed it.
Miller has no chance in that fight with Okami! Just like people said his brother was the next big thing they were quieted by {The Bully}. I do agree however that Okami is getting Di*ked out of the whole deal, I mean what’s it gonna matter if he “Okami” beats Miller he’s suppose to anyway in my eyes and many others too I’m sure.
i get what guys are saying that maia’s striking is weak. heres a secret why. his jj is sick. he does not need to strike. I think all of his wins in the ufc are by submission. I guarantee his striking is good, its nowhere near silva’s for sure, but I bet it is pretty damn good. it is not a good idea to strike with silva, just ask all his opponenets. but like i mentioned earlier dont be suprised when maia subs silva, but I would be suprised if he ko’s silva. it can happen. remember when matt serra ko’d gsp. anything is possible. dont assume one guy is unbeatable. all it takes is one punch. okami is getting f’d, but he might get cote or marquardt next. I didnt think maia would get a shot without facing cote or marquardt or hendo-bisping winner, but he did. okami is still there, but i think marquardt or cote will beat him.
I hope this fight will happen. i like both fighters.. but i think this will be the biggest challenge for Silva.
I think Silva’s weakness is on the ground… He may have submitted Hendo via choke and Lutter via triangle but Maia’s jutsu is INSANE., if they’re gonna end up on the ground both looking for a submission, Maia definitely has the advantage ( in my opinion ). and i certainly doubt if Silva would want to spend some time on the ground to test Maia.
Going back, the reason why i think Silva’s weakness is on the ground is basically because he’s not really into BJJ and he’s not a wrestler as well. He has sumbitted Lutter due to Lutter’s conditioning problem., Hendo on the otherhand would choose to have himself sumbitted rather than being KO’d to protect his Resume.
Wrapping up, if i were to put my money is gotta be on MAIA. submission RND 2.
Does your assessment that Silva is “not really into BJJ” take into consideration that he’s a black belt under big Nog?
Hendo on the otherhand would choose to have himself sumbitted rather than being KO’d to protect his Resume.
What are you talking about? A loss is a loss, whether you get tapped out of ko’d, you still loose. Believe it or not but a loss is bad for your resume.
Justin, What i mean with “Silva not being into BJJ” was the fact that, in all of his fights he doesnt look for subs, he’s a stand up fighter coz obviously it’s his strenght he’s got the best muay thai with excellent pin point striking. he’s using his BJJ black belt to be a complete MMA fighter.. his BJJ’s skill are to protect himself if the fight goes to the ground. well, ofcourse with that obviuosly he’s got some submissions on his back.
TimCat, i believe what you said “a loss is a loss”. Dude, Hendo got a little crappy trying to poke Silva while on top, he’s got very good wrestling but he didn’t utilize it. As to the reason why i said ” he wants to protect his resume” am not being literal about it, many years of fighting in MMA and not getting KO’d is something, you can even call it an achievement.
Henderson would take Silva in a rematch. Henderson neutralized Silva’s clench game but got caught.. unlucky.. doubt the same would happen in a re-match.
Can’t wait till it happens.
hendo could win the second time around, but lutter took silva to the ground in their fight, went to full mount very quickly and did GnP to silva. if maia can get to full mount, it is over because maia will quickly lock in an armbar on silva. with a guy who has great jj and he gets into a full mount position, the armbar takes maybe two seconds to get to. lutter thought he could get the ref to stop the fight by doing GnP instead of going for the sub. hopefully maia will think correctly and sub silva.
why does everyone discredit Silva’s capabilities on the ground? Hell Hendo had him on the ground and oops got choked out, Lutter had him on the ground and oops got in a triangle and had to tap as well………… Just cuz his jits is primarly a defensive weapon, he still has ended great ground fighters on the ground…. Leites is a difficult “test” for Silva but its not like he can’t pass that test even if it goes to the ground… Hell Silva didn’t buy his Black Belt he earned it….