Maia Eyes March Return to UFC
Former world Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion and current Abu Dhabi
champion Demian Maia
(Pictures) started off on the right
foot in the UFC when he submitted Ryan Jensen (Pictures) with a rear-naked choke.
The Brazilian loved the experience.
"That was awesome," Maia said of his win in October. "That has always been my dream fight in the Ultimate. Thank God everything went right. The fight was aired on TV, even though it was on the undercard. Fought against a good fighter, without harming me and without hurting him, which is what we always try. I think we all were happy, and now we await the next bout because I have three more fights in the contract and I hope to repeat the same performance of my debut."
Maia was surprised to discover that the American public enjoyed his grappling game.
"I thought that Americans liked mostly standup fighting, but it is not so," he said. "Because they do not know much about ground fighting, it is more interesting for them to watch guys who trade blows in standup. Those who take the fight to the ground and do ground and pound without efficiency, it leaves the crowd half-bored. But if you show great and fluid movement on the ground, they like it. That's what I realized. The public was happy with my fight, regardless of whether it was standing or on the floor."
Ready to devote himself fully to MMA from now on, the BJJ black belt told Sherdog.com that he will return to the Octagon at UFC 83. He knows that he will not have an easy time.
"MMA to me now is a road without return," Maia explained. "I go back in UFC 83, in March, in England. I think they will give me some tough guy. In my category there are many tough guys. I like to see Anderson's fights. He is impressive; he is very skillful on the feet. Thales Leites (Pictures) is a very tough fighter, and Rich Franklin (Pictures), Dan Henderson (Pictures), Jason MacDonald (Pictures), Yushin Okami (Pictures) -- there are a lot of them."
The UFC is very different from other shows in which Maia has participated. However, he ensures that he's not intimidated by the size of the most popular MMA event in the United States.
"I loved -- I love this climate," he said. "Some people feel a little pressure, but I like it. The most difficult is the expectation of the fight; it is a lot of pressure. I fought in the same event as Anderson, and he had to wait the entire event because he was in the last fight of the night. It was a huge amount of pressure. The show is very impressive, and I liked to be there."
After winning major titles in BJJ and submission wrestling, Maia believes he will be fighting for the top belts in MMA, too. The fighter does not hasten his climb, though. He knows his time will soon arrive.
"Everything in my career always has been slowly, slowly and with consistency," he said. "That's what I want to do now. I want to win fights, preferably by submission, and then I wait for the next and so on until the title."
The Brazilian loved the experience.
"That was awesome," Maia said of his win in October. "That has always been my dream fight in the Ultimate. Thank God everything went right. The fight was aired on TV, even though it was on the undercard. Fought against a good fighter, without harming me and without hurting him, which is what we always try. I think we all were happy, and now we await the next bout because I have three more fights in the contract and I hope to repeat the same performance of my debut."
Maia was surprised to discover that the American public enjoyed his grappling game.
"I thought that Americans liked mostly standup fighting, but it is not so," he said. "Because they do not know much about ground fighting, it is more interesting for them to watch guys who trade blows in standup. Those who take the fight to the ground and do ground and pound without efficiency, it leaves the crowd half-bored. But if you show great and fluid movement on the ground, they like it. That's what I realized. The public was happy with my fight, regardless of whether it was standing or on the floor."
Ready to devote himself fully to MMA from now on, the BJJ black belt told Sherdog.com that he will return to the Octagon at UFC 83. He knows that he will not have an easy time.
"MMA to me now is a road without return," Maia explained. "I go back in UFC 83, in March, in England. I think they will give me some tough guy. In my category there are many tough guys. I like to see Anderson's fights. He is impressive; he is very skillful on the feet. Thales Leites (Pictures) is a very tough fighter, and Rich Franklin (Pictures), Dan Henderson (Pictures), Jason MacDonald (Pictures), Yushin Okami (Pictures) -- there are a lot of them."
The UFC is very different from other shows in which Maia has participated. However, he ensures that he's not intimidated by the size of the most popular MMA event in the United States.
"I loved -- I love this climate," he said. "Some people feel a little pressure, but I like it. The most difficult is the expectation of the fight; it is a lot of pressure. I fought in the same event as Anderson, and he had to wait the entire event because he was in the last fight of the night. It was a huge amount of pressure. The show is very impressive, and I liked to be there."
After winning major titles in BJJ and submission wrestling, Maia believes he will be fighting for the top belts in MMA, too. The fighter does not hasten his climb, though. He knows his time will soon arrive.
"Everything in my career always has been slowly, slowly and with consistency," he said. "That's what I want to do now. I want to win fights, preferably by submission, and then I wait for the next and so on until the title."
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