M. Alonso/Sherdog.com
Two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships winner
Demian Maia will meet former International Fight League middleweight titleholder
Dan Miller at
UFC 109 “Relentless” on Feb. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Eleven bouts are now official for the Super Bowl weekend show.
Maia, who won his first five fights in the Octagon by submission, received the rudest of awakenings at UFC 102 in August, when
Nate Marquardt flattened him in 21 seconds. The 32-year-old Brazilian remains one of the top contenders at 185 pounds, with key victories against the world-ranked
Chael Sonnen, former middleweight title challenger
Nate Quarry and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 runner-up
Ed Herman on his resume. Maia has delivered eight of his 11 career wins by submission.
Miller, a rugged competitor with a well-rounded skill set, figures to test Maia’s mettle. The 28-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt has never been finished as a professional but finds himself on the rebound in wake of his unanimous decision defeat to Sonnen at UFC 98 in May. Based out of the AMA Fight Club in Whippany, N.J., Miller has posted four wins in five fights.
Meanwhile, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 6 winner
Mac Danzig will toe the line against
Justin Buchholz in a lightweight matchup.
Danzig has fallen on hard times since his submission victory over
Mark Bocek at UFC 83. A loser in three straight, he has not competed since his unanimous decision defeat to
Jim Miller in July. The 29-year-old Danzig, a former King of the Cage champion, has secured more than half (10) of his 18 career wins by submission but remains in search of a signature victory. Two years have now passed since he ousted
Tom Speer to win the welterweight tournament on Season 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
A former Icon Sport champion, Buchholz has lost three of his past four fights, including two straight. The 26-year-old Alaskan has not appeared since he succumbed to first-round strikes against
Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 19 in September. Buchholz delivered his lone win inside the Octagon when he coaxed a tapout from “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 veteran
Corey Hill at UFC 86 in July 2008.
A legends bout pairing hall of famers
Randy Couture, 46, and
Mark Coleman, 44, will headline UFC 109, along with a pivotal welterweight rematch between the polarizing
Josh Koscheck and the last man to defeat him, Brazilian
Paulo Thiago.
Randy Couture vs.
Mark Coleman
Josh Koscheck vs.
Paulo Thiago
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs.
Brandon Vera
Nate Marquardt vs.
Chael Sonnen
Matt Serra vs.
Frank Trigg
Demian Maia vs.
Dan Miller
Mac Danzig vs.
Justin Buchholz
Ronnys Torres vs.
Melvin Guillard
Tim Hague vs.
Chris Tuchscherer
Phillipe Nover vs.
Robert Emerson
Rolles Gracie vs.
Mostapha Al-Turk
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