WARNING: Don’t even touch Demian Maia
Chael Sonnen showed mad respect for Demian Maia during his many pre-fight interviews saying that the Brazilian is better than Anderson Silva and will beat eventually beat the UFC middleweight champ. He also said Maia is the only guy he’s ever seen who prefers to work from his back which for many is a perceived position of weakness:
"He’s been real good at imposing his gameplan and getting guys where he wants them. He looks really good." Sonnen told Cage Writer last week that he had only picked up on Maia’s strange style a few weeks ago. "I’ve never seen a guy that will get to the clinch and then pull you on top of him."
The Oregonian knew what he was talking about but couldn’t stay out of the clutches of the unbeaten Brazilian. Maia (10-0, 5-0 UFC) worked solely on getting Sonnen to the ground for the first two minutes of the fight. Sonnen showed some bravery in mixing it up in spots with Maia on his back but then made the mistake of allowing Maia to pin him against the cage. Maia got the underhooks, tossed Sonnen over his head using a lateral drop takedown. He immediately spun into the mount where he locked on a triangle choke. Sonnen was finished at 2:37 of the first:
"I was surprised I put him down. He’s so good wrestling," said Maia. "I was very well-prepared. This is the first time I have the (UFC middleweight) title in my mind."
This may be the first time in fighting history that a fighter predicted his own demise to a "T" in pre-fight interviews:
"With this short of time, I don’t have the opportunity to learn the techniques to stop that," said Sonnen (21-10-1, 1-3 UFC). "In my entire life, I’ve never had anybody pull me on top of them with them on bottom."
Fighters all over the world have really improved over the last 15 years in defending against jiu-jitsu practitioners but Maia almost seems to have a Royce Gracie quality where he is catching good fighters off-guard with his submissions. UFC color voice Joe Rogan pointed out that the problem may be that Meia works his submissions as a southpaw even on the ground.
Maia has won the Jiu-Jitsu World Cup three times and the world championship twice. The 31-year-old from Sao Paolo beat Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, who fights in Japan, in 2005. Maia seems to relish the idea in mixed martial arts that he doesn’t have to beat up an opponent to win. He’s now won all five of his UFC fights by submission.
He may have moved himself ahead of the rest of the middleweights for a shot at UFC champ Anderson Silva later this year. What does this fight say about Paulo Filho who split two fights with Sonnen and was stymied at times in both on the feet? Reportedly, Filho has schooled Silva in the gym on many occasions.
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