MIddleweights
Demian Maia (15-3, 9-3 UFC) vs. Chris Weidman (7-0, 3-0 UFC
Maia is a significant step up in competition: a former title challenger in whose grappling credentials include a gold medal with the 2007 Abu Dhabi Beat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships. Maia began his UFC career on a tear, submitting his earliest six opponents, including Chael Sonnen which includes a triangle choke at UFC NINETY FIVE. The Brazilian has tapered away since, going 4-3, with all of his victories by selection. He is coming off of a victory over Jorge Santiago where he utilized his underrated takedown game to defeat the first kind Sengoku Raiden Championship titleholder. Maia certainly will not scare anyone with her striking, but he has proved improved aggression in recent fights and it is good at closing this pocket and using throws or trips to move guard or move into top control.
Weidman, a member of the Serra-Longo Fight Team, includes improving standup, but he may shoot for the takedown early on, and he will reshoot while necessary. Maia is not unpleasant fighting from his back but expect a group of pressure from Weidman. The 27-year-old is just not content to sit in guard all of which will look to pass during every opportunity. Weidman has enough expertise grappling so that he will never be out of his element if Maia will be able to reverse position. The fight could drop to who can land most effectively around the feet.
The Pick: Weidman has an opportunity to justify his hype in advance of a national television viewers, but the task will never be easy. It will often be a back-and-forth battle, with both men matching wits around the ground. Maia will have to effectively neutralize his foe's ground-and-pound, while Weidman must be cautious in avoiding your Brazilian's submissions. The unknown variable could be the career arc of Weidman, that is still at the phase where his skills can certainly improve drastically from combat to fight. It won't be overly surprising if his standup is markedly better than the last time he fought. It is hard to not ever like Weidman's overall athleticism and talent. He takes a razor-thin decision more than a very game Maia.
HTML Ready Article. Click on the "Copy" button to copy into your clipboard. Please Note: you may use this article anywhere you like, but no links or copyright information may be changed.
All information in these articles are sole opinions of the individual user that registered and submitted the article, be they an individual, group or organisation. These articles are strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used without consultation from a professional in the field of the article.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.all-your-articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
