It seems in this sport there are a choice few competitors that immediately stand above the rest. Once they make themselves known, they capture our attention, and command our respect. GSP, Forrest Griffin, even Brock Lesnar.
Folks, Demian Maia is one of those competitors. When this fighter first emerged on the scene he was impressive, but seemed one dimensional. Fun to watch but more than likely he would get “figured out” and taken out. Not so fast.
This guy is a throwback MMA fighter. There is something very old school about his approach. The type of guy like Gracie, or Colemen. A guy who is coming to this fight to do one thing to you, and that thing is no secret. The guy is so good at that one thing, that even though his opponents know exactly what he is going to do, they cant stop him from doing it.
Much like BJ Penn, this mans talent is unmatched, and must be very difficult to train for, as it really can not be replicated for study and experience.
He isn’t so one dimensional as a quick glance might tell you. His submission victories make it seem so, but that is just because he is so damn crafty that most fighters just cant avoid them. That isn’t to say he doesn’t have other weapons.
At UFC 95 Maia proved he has some other tools in his kit. A strong chin which was tested by Sonnen as well as fighters passed, some decent hands which can keep a fighter thinking to open up take downs. For a smaller MW he is able to control his opponent very well. He really controls both on the feet and on the ground with effortless ease.
Whether it is by straight up double leg take down , Judo throw as demonstrated on Sonnen, or pulling a fighter into his guard, Maia has a very solid knack for getting the fight down, even against larger stronger opponents. How many BJJ fighters have that skill to get it down when they choose? That is the twist.
If Maia strengthens his standup and combines that ability to both get the fight to the ground and do his thing by way of sub once it gets there, we are in for a long reign of success by this man. In many of his fights he has displayed the ability to take the fight down with ease. Which is somewhat of a rarity for BJJ fighters.
In some cases it is quite difficult to watch a strong BJJ guy try and get a fighter into his world, for an example see early Gracie footage of him scooting around the octagon on his butt chasing his opponent. For more recent proof, see BJJ phenom Rousimar Palhares fighting Dan Henderson. Ugly to say the least.
Many BJJ practitioners do not have the take down skills of say a wrestler or Judoka. Most BJJ guys will try to trap the opponent into going down with them, or pull them into guard. Its usually up to the opponent to take it down then the BJJ fighter can start his work.
Maia, actively and aggresively pursues the take down and that makes him extremely dangerous when paired with his lighting quick and python like subs. He can sink a sub on the fly, and god forbid the opponent just leaves an opening. The thing is he has many tools to get you down and once your down, you must be extremely careful.
As Joe Rogan surely would say, this mans Jiu Jitsu is on another level (eyes bulging). He is constantly controlling limbs, stuck to his opponent like a wet suit, relentlessly looking for subs, and he is deadly when he smells the kill.
Every one of his fights has been a clinic on grappling, submission escapes and holds. Even in the war with Jason Macdonald he seemed always in control and on the hunt. In his four UFC battles, his chin has been tested, his cardio pushed, his heart weighed and he has not wavered. Quite to the contrary, he has shined.
Two notable weaknesses have hinted at their existence. Maia is a bleeder, he has been cut twice in his fights in the octagon. He has shown signs of fatigue more than once in his fights. One of those can be rectified and one can not. Regardless of his having been winded in a couple fights, he ended them both, so its hard to say it effected him.
This writer feels that with some extensive conditioning, a stand up focused training camp Muay Thai in particular, and a shot, Demian Maia will become the most realistic threat to the belt that is cemented around Anderson Silva’s waist.
The fighters that gave our MW champ the most trouble did their work on the ground. Not that Silva has a weakness per say, but his ground game is not his stand up as far as relentless. Relentless on the ground is Maia. Ones stand up is comparable to the others ground game when talking in terms of danger and dominance.
Maia has proven he can attatch himself to a fighter, and get him down to the ground. He has proven it against some fighters that are not slouches in Ed Herman and Jason Macdonald, now former WEC MW champion Chael Sonnen.
Given just a bit more time to sharpen his skills, and this guy takes that belt from Silva. He is the man that could do it given the right timing and opportunity. That is a tall order, but not one man has proven to be elite enough to test Silva. Even our former champ Rich Franklin. Keep in mind, Maia is elite, he is rare, he is a dominant champion waiting to happen.
He brings a taste of the past in his ability to focus in one area and dominate there, but he also brings to the table a sense of the future in his ability to thrive elsewhere and adapt when necessary. He is not as one diminsional as Royce Gracie, and he is not as versatile as GSP, he is something different, unique. Either way you cut it he is dominant to say the least.
This is a hybrid, highly talented MMA practitioner unlike we have seen burst on the scene in quite some time. Don’t look away, this man may change the landscape of an entire division that has been struggling for quite some time to answer the questions of the man they call the Spider.
He may just answer that man and then pose some new questions of his own.
