- Demian Maia
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Demian Maia Born Demian Maia Baptista
November 6, 1977
São Paulo, BrazilNationality Brazilian Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight 186 lb (84.4 kg; 13.3 st) Division Middleweight (185 lb) Style Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Boxing Stance Southpaw Fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil Team Wand Fight Team Rank 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[1] Years active 2001, 2005 – present (MMA) Mixed martial arts record Total 18 Wins 15 By knockout 2 By submission 8 Losses 3 By knockout 1 Other information University Cásper Líbero Spouse Renata Website http://demianmaia.com/ Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog last updated on: October 5, 2010 Demian Maia Baptista (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈdemiɐ̃ ˈmajɐ] born November 6, 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Maia is currently ranked the #6 middleweight in the world by Sherdog[2] and Yahoo! Sports.[3], and the #8 middleweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.[4]
Contents
Background
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Maia trained in Judo as a child. When he became a teenager, he also began studying Kung Fu and Karate. By age nineteen, Maia was introduced to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by his cousin. After four years and seven months, Demian received his black belt under Fabio Gurgel.[5] Demian Maia finished college and graduated with a degree in Journalism.[6] He is currently a third degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has won several major tournaments under Team Brasa.
He won the 77–87 kg weight division at the 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, defeating Yushin Okami, Rafael Lovato, and Tarsis Humphres before armbarring Flavio Almeida in the finals. He also won the 2007 Super Challenge under 83 kg belt, defeating Vitelmo Kubis Bandeira by rear naked choke and Gustavo Machado by a judges decision before going on to defeat Fabio Negao by guillotine choke in the finals. On the heels of his ADCC championship in 2007, Maia released an instructional DVD series titled The Science of Jiu Jitsu I & II in collaboration with the World Martial Arts company.
He has also defeated Gabriel Gonzaga in a grappling competition.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
On December 3, 2005, fought against Lukas Chlewicki at The Cage – Volume 4 in Helsinki, Finland. In just 4:22, Maia submitted Chlewicki by armbar to win his MMA debut. After nearly a year, he returned to compete at Super Challenge 1, earning three victories in one night to be crowned the 2007 Super Challenge Champion in the under-83 kg division. In 2007, he competed in GFC – Evolution against Ryan Stout. Early in the first round, Stout's shoulder popped out of its socket after Maia reversing him into a mount, causing a stoppage due to injury.[7]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
It was reported on August 7, 2007, that Maia had signed a contract with the UFC.[8] He was originally matched against veteran Marvin Eastman, but Eastman pulled out due to eye surgery.[9] Ryan Jensen, who trained with Team Quest for this fight, was named as his replacement. The preliminary bout took place on October 20 at UFC 77: Hostile Territory in Cincinnati, Ohio. Maia won by rear naked choke in the first round and was awarded the Submission of the Night award, which paid him $40,000.
Maia next fought Ed Herman, another Team Quest fighter, at UFC 83: Serra vs St-Pierre 2 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on April 19, 2008. Maia defeated Herman by triangle choke at 2:27 of the second round. He again earned Submission of the Night for the victory, which paid him $75,000.[10]
Maia's third fight was at UFC 87: Seek & Destroy where he took on middleweight Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald. Both fighters entered the cage having won back-to-back Submission of the Night victories in the UFC. Maia went on to defeat MacDonald by rear naked choke at 2:44 of the third round,[11] earning $60,000 for Submission of the Night.[12] With this award he became the first UFC fighter to earn three consecutive Submissions of the Nights.[13] His four consecutive dominating submissions in the UFC have quickly brought his skills to the forefront as possibly being the best pure grappler in the UFC.[14]
Maia defeated Nate Quarry at UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar by rear naked choke in the first round.[15] After the fight, Maia expressed interest in fighting Michael Bisping next.
Instead, Maia would take on Chael Sonnen in London, England at UFC 95 (February 21).[16] During the match, Maia tossed Sonnen over his head using a lateral drop takedown, taking Sonnen to the ground, where Maia immediately achieved mount. Maia then baited and transitioned to a triangle choke, forcing Sonnen to tap out at 2:24 of the first round. The bout earned Maia his fourth Submission of the Night award in five UFC fights.
Maia's next opponent was Nate Marquardt at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira on August 29. Maia was knocked out 21 seconds into the fight, resulting in his first career loss.
Maia faced Dan Miller on February 6, 2010, at UFC 109: Relentless and won the fight via unanimous decision. In a surprising turn, Maia did not take the fight to the ground and stated in the post fight interview that this was done to show that he could strike.[17]
Middleweight Championship fight
After Vitor Belfort had to pull out of his upcoming match with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva at UFC 112 due to a shoulder injury suffered in training, Maia was selected to fill the spot and take Silva on for the belt in what would be the UFC's first ever open air event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[18]
In the first two rounds, Silva appeared to mock his opponent, while also executing quick, precise striking. In the third round, however, Silva's tempo seemed to change and looked to Maia to be the aggressor of the fight while he largely circled and taunted his opponent. In the fifth round, Silva's lack of action prompted referee Dan Miragliotta to warn Silva over his conduct and the crowd began to side with Maia.[19] After 5 rounds, Silva was declared the winner via unanimous decision.
Silva was criticised for his performance, with Dana White saying that it was the most embarrassed he has ever been since becoming UFC president.[20] Midway through the fourth round, White walked away and gave the championship belt to Silva's manager, Ed Soares, as he was so annoyed that he did not want to place the belt around Silva's waist personally.[21] It was also claimed that Silva verbally insulted Maia during the fight.[22]
After The Title Fight
Maia was then expected to fight Alan Belcher on September 15, 2010, at UFC Fight Night 22.[23] However, on August 1, 2010, Belcher withdrew from the fight after undergoing emergency eye surgery. Belcher stated on his Twitter account that he started to lose the vision in his right eye while in Brazil.[24] As a result, Maia was also pulled from the event[25] and faced Mario Miranda on August 28, 2010, at UFC 118.[26] Maia defeated Mario Miranda via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
Maia faced Kendall Grove on December 4, 2010, at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale.[27] where he won by uninamous decision. Maia displayed improved stand-up rather than focusing on his jiu jitsu, as he did in his earlier UFC bouts. Maia topped the TUF 12 Finale fighter salaries, collecting $80,000 for his win over Grove.[28]
Maia faced Mark Muñoz on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131,[29] where he lost by unanimous decision. In this fight Maia displayed much improved striking compared to his last fight. In the first round, he was able to stun his opponent with punches and through out the match showed that he was willing to go toe to toe with Munoz and showed no hesitation.
Maia defeated Jorge Santiago on October 8, 2011 at UFC 136 by unanimous decision. He used his superior grappling to control Santiago throughout the entire fight.
Personal life
Maia has a wife named Renata.[30] Maia listed UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie as his inspiration to begin an MMA career, but lists Royce's brother Rickson Gracie, as his primary hero.[31] Maia speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Championships and achievements
Grappling credentials
- ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships
- ADCC 2007 77–87 kg: 1st place
- ADCC 2005 77–87 kg: 2nd place
- Record of opponents:
- Lost: Marcelo Garcia (points), Romulo Barral (choke),
- CBJJ World Championships
- 2001 Brown Belt Medio-Pesado: 2nd Place
- 2000 Purple Belt Medio-Pesado: 1st Place
- 1999 Blue Belt Medio: 2nd Place
- CBJJ Brazilian Championships
- 2006 Black Belt Absolute: 2nd Place & Black Belt Medium Heavy: =3rd Place
- 2002 Brown Belt Medio-Pesado: =3rd Place
- 2001 Brown Belt Medio-Pesado: 1st Place & Brown Belt Medio-Pesado: =3rd Place
- CBJJ Brazilian Team Championships
- 2003 Brown/Black Pesada: Master, 1st Place
- 2002 Brown/Black Pesada: Alliance, 2nd Place
- 2001 Brown/Black Pesada: Alliance, 1st Place
- 2000 Purple Belt Pesada: Alliance, 1st Place
- CBJJO Copa Del Mundo
- 2005 −85 kg Black Belt: 1st Place
- 2003 Black Belt Meio Pesado: =3rd Place & Black Belt Absolute: 1st Place
- 2002 Black Belt Meio Pesado: 1st Place & Black Belt Absolute: 2nd Place
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- 4x Submission of the Night Honors
- FIGHT! Magazine
- Newcomer of the Year (2008) [32]
Awards
- 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion
- 2007 Super Challenge under-83 kg Champion
- 2006 Pan American Champion
- 2005 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Runner-Up
- 3x World Cup champion
- 2x World Champion
- Brazilian champion
- 7x State champion
- 4x Brazilian team champion
- 4x UFC Submission of the Night
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown 18 matches 15 wins 3 losses By knockout 2 1 By submission 8 0 By decision 5 2 Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes Win 15-3 Jorge Santiago Decision (unanimous) UFC 136 October 8, 2011 3 5:00 Houston, Texas, United States Loss 14–3 Mark Muñoz Decision (unanimous) UFC 131 June 11, 2011 3 5:00 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Win 14–2 Kendall Grove Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale December 4, 2010 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win 13–2 Mario Miranda Decision (unanimous) UFC 118 August 28, 2010 3 5:00 Boston, Massachusetts, United States Loss 12–2 Anderson Silva Decision (unanimous) UFC 112 April 10, 2010 5 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates For UFC Middleweight Championship Win 12–1 Dan Miller Decision (unanimous) UFC 109 February 6, 2010 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss 11–1 Nate Marquardt KO (punch) UFC 102 August 29, 2009 1 0:21 Portland, Oregon, United States Win 11–0 Chael Sonnen Submission (triangle choke) UFC 95 February 21, 2009 1 2:37 London, England Submission of the Night Win 10–0 Nate Quarry Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 91 November 15, 2008 1 2:13 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win 9–0 Jason MacDonald Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 87 August 9, 2008 3 2:44 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Submission of the Night Win 8–0 Ed Herman Technical Submission (triangle choke) UFC 83 April 19, 2008 2 2:27 Montreal, Quebec, Canada Submission of the Night Win 7–0 Ryan Jensen Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 77 October 20, 2007 1 2:40 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Submission of the Night Win 6–0 Ryan Stout TKO (shoulder injury) GFC: Evolution May 19, 2007 1 1:54 Columbus, Ohio, United States Win 5–0 Fabio Nascimento Submission (guillotine choke) Super Challenge 1 October 7, 2006 1 0:35 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Won Super Challenge Tournament (83 kg section) Win 4–0 Gustavo Machado Decision (unanimous) Super Challenge 1 October 7, 2006 2 5:00 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win 3–0 Vitelmo Kubis Bandeira Submission (rear-naked choke) Super Challenge 1 October 7, 2006 1 3:30 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win 2–0 Łukasz Chlewicki Submission (armbar) The Cage Vol. 4: Redemption December 3, 2005 1 4:22 Helsinki, Finland Win 1–0 Raul Sosa TKO (punches) Tormenta en el Ring September 21, 2001 1 0:48 Caracas, Venezuela See also
- List of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners
References
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- ^ "Demian Maia Off UFN 22; Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares New Main Event". mmafighting.com. 2010-08-03. http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/03/demian-maia-off-ufn-22-marquardt-vs-palhares-new-main-event/.
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- ^ "TUF 12 Finale Fighters Salaries: Demian Maia Gets Top Payout". MMAWeekly.com. December 6, 2010. http://mmaweekly.com/tuf-12-finale-fighter-salaries-demian-maia-gets-top-payout.
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- ^ "Demian Maia". Fighters.mmaanalytics.com. http://fighters.mmaanalytics.com/about.aspx?detail=demianmaia. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
- ^ "2008 FIGHT! Awards". FIGHT! Magazine. 2008-05-11. http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/mma-article.asp?aid=240&issid=18. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
External links
- Official website
- BJJ Heroes Demian Maia Biography
- Professional MMA record for Demian Maia from Sherdog
- Official UFC Profile
Categories:- Living people
- Brazilian mixed martial artists
- Middleweight mixed martial artists
- Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- People from São Paulo (city)
- 1977 births
- Brazilian people of Portuguese descent
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