Demian Maia News

Tom Taylor - May 16, 2018

If things had gone according to the original plan, surging UFC welterweight contender Kamaru Usman would have battled Argentine striker Santiago Ponzinibbio in the main of the UFC’s debut in Chile, which goes down this Saturday in the capital of Santiago. When Ponzinibbio was forced out of the fight with an injury, however, Usman was left without a dance partner — which opened the door for former welterweight title challenger Demian Maia to step in. As it turns out, this will not actually be Maia’s first trip to Chile. The Brazilian visited the South American country two years ago, on a PR mission with the UFC, educating local journalists and decision makers on the sport of MMA. Given that he did this outreach work in Chile previously, it seemed logical to him to accept the short-notice bout with Usman in the country.

Drake Riggs - May 14, 2018

Whenever an MMA debate breaks out over who is the greatest BJJ practitioner in all of the sport, you would be hard-pressed to find a time that the name Demian Maia won’t be mentioned. Maia, who is set to take on rising contender, Kamaru Usman this Saturday in the main event of UFC Chile knows that the road is coming to an end in his illustrious career and he took some time Monday to discuss how much longer he thinks he’ll be fighting for.

Drake Riggs - April 26, 2018

Disaster struck for UFC Chile the past week when it lost it’s main and co-main events. The co-main was initially set to be Volkan Oezdemir vs Mauricio “Shogun” Rua but was then moved to be the UFC Hamburg main event after some issues with Oezdemir’s visa came to light.

Tom Taylor - October 30, 2017

On Saturday night, in the co-main event of the UFC’s return to Sao Paulo, Brazil, long-time welterweight contender Demian Maia stepped into the cage for a fight with the rising Colby Covington. Though Maia showed off plenty of heart in this fight, he was soundly beaten, ultimately giving up a unanimous decision after three bloody rounds. Having also lost his last fight, a unanimous decision defeat to UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, Maia is now on a two-fight skid. Given that he’s also 39 years old, many fans seem to think it might be time for his retirement.

Chris Taylor - October 28, 2017

A key welterweight scrap between surging contender Colby Covington and former title challenger Demian Maia served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC Fight Night 119 card from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Round one begins and Maia comes out quickly with a jab. He lands a nice left hand and Colby smiles. Another nice left hand over the top from Maia. Covington goes high with a kick but Maia blocks it. The American presses forward with punches. Maia avoids any real damage and lands another left hand. Colby is backing up now. Maia shoots for a takedown but Colby is able to defend the shot. Both fighters connect with straight lefts. Colby fires off a nice leg kick and then another. Maia lands a clean left hand. Covington replies with a hard low kick. The Brazilian circles and then lands a right jab. Covington is bleeding now. Maia avoids a superman punch and lands a right hand. Colby with two more hard low kicks. He presses forward and lands a left hand. Maia with some good shots in the pocket. Colby returns fire with a right jab. Colby with a leg kick followed by a flurry of punches. Maia replies with a left hand and then an uppercut. Maia shoots for a takedown but it is not there. The fighters are back on their feet and the horn sounds to end round one.

Justin Golightly - October 28, 2017

Besides the return of MMA legend Lyoto Machida, the eyes will be on the co-main event at Sao Paulo when Colby Covington takes on a humongous test in grappling wizard Demian Maia. It was just back at UFC 214 that Maia finally got his shot at a UFC welterweight title, only to be bested by champion Tyron Woodley. Covington feels that Maia is the only guy that stands in the way of him knocking on gold’s door as well. He not only thinks he can do it, but thinks he can put on a better performance against Maia that Woodley. “It’s a pretty easy fight to train for [against Demian Maia]. To be honest, I’m training for Tyron Woodley. I’m gonna’ finish Demian Maia. I’m gonna dominate, dismantle Demian Maia. The different between me and Tyron Woodley is that Tyron Woodley fights nervous, he fights scared. He doesn’t wanna get tired, so the thing with Tyron Woodley is the he doesn’t know how to push the pace, he doesn’t have cardio. He doesn’t have heart. He has a heart, but he doesn’t have heart. There’s a difference.”

Russell Ess - October 27, 2017

Rising UFC welterweight Colby Covington is a short time away from getting the chance to establish himself as one of the top contenders at 170 pounds. Covington, who is currently ranked the no. 7 welterweight by the UFC takes on no. 3 ranked Demian Maia this weekend at UFC Fight Night 118 in Sao Paulo, Brazil in the co-main event of the evening. Speaking on The MMA Hour this week, Covington brought the trash talk, as usual, in regards to his matchup against the Brazilian.

Chris Taylor - August 6, 2017

UFC welterweight Colby Covington is a rising star in the UFC’s stacked welterweight division. “Chaos” has won four fights in a row, his latest being a lopsided decision victory over highly regarded Korean fighter Dong Hyun Kim.

Chris Taylor - July 29, 2017

A welterweight title fight served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC 214 fight card in Anaheim as current champ Tyron Woodley took on top contender Demian Maia. Round one begins and Maia starts off with immediate pressure. He shoots in and tries to secure a takedown. Woodley is able to shake him off. Woodley lands an uppercut. Maia shoots in for another takedown attempt. He grabs a hold of a leg. Woodley is doing a good job of defending. Maia pulls out and we are back to standing. Woodley with a nice right hand. Maia presses forward. Once again he shoots in. Woodley grabs the fence and is able to stay standing. Maia shoots in again. He grabs a foot but Woodley escapes. Tyron with a right hand. Maia presses forward with a left. Woodley circles and takes the center of the octagon. He throws a right hand. Maia avoids. Demian with some pressure now. Woodley explodes forward with a right hand. Maia shoots in for a takedown. He cannot secure the shot. Woodley circles out. He comes in and throws a right hand that misses. Twenty seconds remain. Woodley circles. Round one comes to an end.

bjpenndotcom - July 28, 2017

On Saturday, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will step into the Octagon in hopes of making yet another successful title defense in the co-main event of UFC 214. The fight will see ‘The Chosen One’ step into the Octagon with arguably the greatest JiuJitsu specialist in the UFC, Demian Maia. Ahead of the fight, Woodley spoke to those in attendance at the UFC 214 open workouts, saying:

Russell Ess - July 25, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is set to defend his title this weekend at UFC 214 against Demian Maia. Maia has proved to be a top welterweight contender after dropping down from the middleweight division and is on a seven-fight winning streak dating back to 2014 and will get his second chance at getting UFC gold. Woodley is concentrating on his opponent but was asked on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour about former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and his long awaited return to the Octagon. Initially, St-Pierre was scheduled to face Michael Bisping for the middleweight title. However, a delay in St-Pierre’s schedule dealing with an eye injury scrapped the middleweight title matchup and UFC President Dana White insisted that “Rush” will fight for the welterweight title when he is ready to compete again.

bjpenndotcom - July 25, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is currently gearing up for the third title defense of his reign at 170 pounds. ‘The Chosen One’ will be fighting submission expert Demian Maia this weekend at UFC 214, where he will look to once again defend his belt. Ahead of the fight, Woodley spoke on the UFC 214 media conference call to discuss the fight, and why it won’t really do much to help cement his place as the GOAT if he were to defeat Maia on Saturday night.

Chris Taylor - June 28, 2017

Breaking! Tyron Woodley will defend his title at UFC 214 UFC 214 has added another title fight!

Tom Taylor - June 15, 2017

The next title defense of UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is apparently nearing completion. Earlier this week, rumors surfaced that Woodley would be taking on dangerous welterweight star Jorge Masvidal, as the welterweight division’s number one contender Demian Maia was apparently dealing with an injury.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2017

Earlier this month, on the main card of UFC 211, Jorge Masvidal took on Demian Maia in a contest that was widely perceived as a welterweight number one contender fight. Despite some big moments on the feet, Masvidal became the latest casualty of Maia’s incredible grappling skill, surrendering four takedowns and giving up almost eight minutes of control time on the mat. He lost a split decision as a result. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Masvidal recounted this bout with Maia, and explained what surprised him most about the grappling star. Apparently, he was caught off guard by the Brazilian’s sheer strength, and by his innovative use of half guard.

Tom Taylor - May 17, 2017

My new training partner #BackPack is going everywhere with me!!! Check out #TheMorningWoodShow to hear what I think about @demianmaia #MatchUp and #ufc211 recap 🚨LINK IN BIO🚨@DinThomas Produced by: @tjdesantis A post shared by Tyron Woodley (@twooodley) on May 16, 2017 at 8:23pm PDT

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2017

On Saturday night, on the main card of the stacked UFC 211, Jorge Masvidal met Demian Maia in what appeared to be a welterweight number one contender fight. In advance of this fight, Masvidal exuded confidence. He also stepped onto the canvas as a slight betting favorite. In the end, however, the Cuban-American became the latest victim of Maia’s incredible grappling skill. Though he seemed to dominate Maia on the feet while the bout was upright, he succumbed to four takedown attempts and gave up more than eight minutes of control time on the mat, ultimately losing by split decision as a result.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2017

Last Saturday night, on the main card of an action-packed UFC 211, Demian Maia met Jorge Masvidal in what appeared to be a welterweight number one contender fight. Though Masvidal certainly had his moments, Maia would win this fight, relying on his legendary grappling en route to a split decision victory. With this win, Maia seems to have earned himself a shot at reigning UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley. While there’s not a welterweight alive who doesn’t grasp the dangers Maia poses on the mat, Woodley believes Maia will have a difficult time taking him down and taking his back. The champ gave his thoughts on the matchup on FS1’s UFC 211 post fight show.