5 Things You Might Not Know About Demian Maia

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Demian Maia has been a staple of the Ultimate Fighting Championship since he debuted in 2007. The 41-year-old veteran will take on Lyman Good in a welterweight main card matchup at UFC Fight Night 144. Having lost his last three bouts, the grappler is in dire need of a win on Feb. 2.

As fight day looms, here are five things that you might not know about one of the greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners the sport of mixed martial arts has ever known.

He didn’t start out in BJJ.

While he’s synonymous with his country’s grappling art now, Maia initially trained in judo from the ages of four to six. In his teens, he transitioned to kung fu and karate, and it wasn’t until he was 19 that he made the move to BJJ. He quickly became a devotee of the sport and was awarded a coveted black belt in the remarkably short span of a little over four and a half years.

He has fought for a UFC title twice.

Maia’s first UFC title fight was versus all-time great Anderson Silva for the middleweight strap at UFC 112 on April 2010. The anticlimactic snooze fest culminated in Silva holding onto his belt off the back of an uninspiring decision win. Seven years later the Brazilian, now competing at welterweight, challenged champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 214. Unable to drag the action to the ground, the grappler was forced to engage Woodley on the feet. The champion’s risk-averse offense did not endear him to the fans, but it was enough to retain his strap by unanimous decision.

He’s only been stopped once.

Maia has seen the final bell in all of his losses but one. The stoppage came in the very first setback of his MMA career, a 21-second blowout against Nate Marquardt at UFC 102.

He’s a multiple time grappling champion.

The Brazilian is a revered grappler whose achievements in gi and no-gi grappling competition have garnered the respect of his fellow fighters and fans alike. His lengthy list of gi accolades include a CBJJO Copa Del Mundo 1st-place finish and seven Sao Paulo State Jiu-Jitsu Championships. As for no-gi accomplishments, Maia won gold at the 2004 ADCC South American Championships, and at the 2007 ADCC World Championships. The talented grappler has proven adept at utilizing his submission skills in MMA. 12 (48 percent) of his triumphs have come via submission. He once stated in an interview, “I want to show jiu-jitsu to the world, and show to the people that you can win the fight without hurting your opponent.”

His favourite submission is the rear-naked choke.

On seven separate occasions, the grappling maestro achieved victory by rear-naked choke. Notable names that have been caught in the hold include Carlos Condit, Matt Brown and Neil Magny. Out of his four UFC Submission of the Night honors, two of them were earned via this method. The victims were Ryan Jensen at UFC 77 and Jason McDonald at UFC 87. Even when his adversary tucks his chin in order to prevent Maia from finishing the submission, he’s adept at using his strong squeeze to get the job done with a crank instead. He used this approach to defeat Rick Story at UFC 153.