Demian Maia (10-0) has recently added another win to his record, making it his fifth straight win in the UFC. At UFC 95, Maia demonstrated the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu once again as he submitted Chael Sonnen via a beautiful triangle choke. Sonnen entered the octagon with a great wrestling background– a 2-time University National Champion, an NCAA All-American wrestler and a U.S. Olympic team alternate.
Maia has proven to be one of the top middleweight competitors in the UFC, which may very well place him either next or at least one step away from the middleweight title.
Snip from Demian Maia himself:
“Im very well prepared. For the first time I have the title in mind. I think now I deserve the title shot. I want to show Jiu-Jitsu to the world. I want to show people that you can win a fight without hurting your opponent…Jiu-Jitsu is all about that, like with a chessmatch for position with your opponent…for example, I think because I was training a lot in Jiu-Jitsu, when I go to the ground, I think like two movements before my opponent. I think that gives me an advantage . When I fought from the top and I saw the traingle, probably he didn’t realize the triangle. But when he realized it would still be too late. You get used to it with years of training, like I have, on the ground of course…last fight I told I was just waiting, take it step by step, but now if I have the chance I want to fight for the title…I feel prepared right now psychologically, physically and technically…Everyone who goes to the ground with me is going to have hard times.”
