Brazilian Jiujitsu specialist and submission wizard Demian Maia(14/2) faces ‘The Filipino Wrecking Machine’ Mark Munoz(12/2) in what could be a classic battle for grappling supremacy.
A strong parallel can be made between these two fighters as when they first burst onto the scene they both garnered a reputation for their dominant ground skills. Maia, a BBJ world champion, managed to submit five consecutive opponents in the UFC, the last of which came against Chael Sonnen. That is a record that still stands today. Munoz, a NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion has used his elite talent to harass and wear down his opponents, destroying many with brutal ground and pound and knocking out five of them in the process.
But this is Mixed Martial Arts and not submission fighting or a wrestling contest, and so as they rose to the upper echelons of the sport the holes in their stand up game appeared like glaring chasms and they were both brutally exposed with highlight reel knockout losses to Nate Marquardt and Matt Hamill respectively.
Since these opening salvo defeats, both have worked diligently on correcting and improving their striking skills and the progression from one dimensional grappler (albeit elite) to multi-faceted Mixed Martial Artist has been steady and ongoing. In their last few contests both men have claimed dominant victories and shown an increased willingness to trade and compete on the feet and implore their opponents on, with Maia defeating the likes of Dan Miller, and fellow Brazillian Mario Miranda, whilst Munoz has gone on to crush Aaron Simpson and C.B. Dolloway, with both sharing a victory over TUF season 3 winner Kendall Grove.
As Maia has evolved into a more well rounded fighter his exciting submission wins have proved harder to come by. Though some may harbor a wish for a return to those revered BJJ roots, in truth they have never left him. He continues to remain a highly credible threat on the ground, but after the Marquardt defeat (via haymaker from hell), and then only his second loss in a bizarre title fight to world champion Anderson Silva, he grew wise to his stand up deficiencies, knowing they are a facet to his game that he could simply no longer afford to ignore.
Since Munoz lost (via head kick from hell) to Matt Hamill ‘The Filipino Wrecking Machine’ has been nothing short of resurgent. That defeat prompted the team Blackhouse trained fighter to not only work diligently on his Boxing and Muay Thai but to make the even better decision of dropping down to the middleweight division. He has begun to show significant improvements in his striking, losing only once since, via split decision to middleweight number one contender Yushin Okami.
Munoz is dangerous standing, but as his nickname suggests, he isn’t the most technical of strikers and tends to ‘wing’ his shots with reckless abandonment, creating opportunities for his opponent to clinch and slowly wear him down. Maia will continue to have confidence in his Boxing, after impressive showings, but he must respect Munoz’s superior knockout power, and look to use those improved skills to keep his opponent guessing at his intentions, and as a means to close the distance between them in order to constrict his bigger and stronger opponent.
Munoz is rarely in a boring fight, and all credit to him for not resting on his laurels or succumbing to his ‘wrestling chops’ and becoming a dreaded ‘grinder’. Instead his love of striking is clear and his power particularly at 185 pounds is ever more significant. He must make use of that aggressive instinct carefully, make his size advantage and takedown defense count, capitalizing on any errors Maia has been privy to making in the past. However one has to believe that Maia’s all-round skills will earn him the decision victory.
