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[Cat--Smasher]

Demian Maia happy with UFC 156 win vs. Jon Fitch; White sees him in title range | News

"The strategy was to do what I did – go and try to take him down and take his back," Maia said. "Unfortunately, I was not able to submit him because he's very tough. I just realized when I got inside the cage and got his back, I said, 'OK, now let's try to do what I did in my last fight.' But it just didn't work. We had an 'A' plan and a 'B' plan, and the 'A' plan is what I did."

Maia said Plan B revolved around the standup game and specific striking techniques he worked on to prepare for Fitch. But with the easy takedowns and ground control throughout the fight, he never needed to go there.

Fitch's only other UFC losses came in a title fight against champion Georges St-Pierre in 2008 and a 12-second knockout loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 141.

"I'm very happy because I won against one of the toughest guys in the division," Maia said. "I just remember him losing to GSP and Johny Hendricks, and I was able to control him. Of course, I always like to submit (my opponents). I've been training a lot more jiu-jitsu nowadays to submit (my opponents) and give a good fight for the fans. But sometimes, it's just impossible."

That appeared to be the case against Fitch, whose highly touted submission defense was on display again, the way it was for his win over Erick Silva. But he never was able to get any offense mounted against Maia the way he was able to do against Silva.

So does Maia regret not dropping down sooner now that he's become one of the hottest welterweights in the division?

"Yeah, I think that sometimes," he said. "But you can't go back to the past. So I just think ahead."

Looking ahead just might put him right in the thick of things in the weight class. The welterweight division will see Georges St-Pierre (23-2 MMA, 17-2 UFC) defend his title against Nick Diaz (26-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at UFC 158 next month in Montreal. And on the same card, four contenders will fight in an unofficial "tournament" – Johny Hendricks (14-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) meets Jake Ellenberger (28-6 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Rory MacDonald (14-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) tries to avenge the only loss of his career against Carlos Condit (28-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

But UFC President Dana White said Maia could wind up fighting one of those four in order to get right into the title picture.

"It's a good win for him," White said. "For Fitch, he's lost two of his last three – but he's a tough guy, and the perfect way to describe the fight is, (Maia) out-Fitch'd Fitch. I mean, I said the same thing as everybody else was saying. After this tournament happens up in Montreal, he'll fall in there with one of those guys and we'll see what happens. But I see him becoming a No. 1 contender pretty quick."

[Luc1an]

Maia dominated Fitch. He couldnt submit him but they say that Fitch is "unchokeable" lol
You gotta think that with another big win Maia is gotta be close to the #1 contender spot for WW. What do you guys think his chances vs GSP are?

[Repenter]

he'll definitely need a win over a more dangerous standup opponent before title consideration. if condit loses to mcdonald, he'd be a perfect test to test maia's value in the division.

edit: a win over kampmann could also get him there

[cosmicsunn]

that win on saturday was a completely domination. the only person who dominated fitch like that was by the current champ gsp.
i would love to see maia against the winner of macdonald/ condit for the number one contender title.

[Sakara=Excitement]

Originally Posted by cosmicsunn

that win on saturday was a completely domination. the only person who dominated fitch like that was by the current champ gsp.
i would love to see maia against the winner of macdonald/ condit for the number one contender title.

Wait....you are comparing what Maia did to Fitch (take him down...take his back...do minimal damage....and not coming close to finishing him) to GSP?

[GL Jeff]

Why does Maia want to get his face jabbed off by GSP?

[Adambomb]

Maia is a legit contender at 170. If he can take down Fitch that easily he can probably take down anyone in the division, with the possible exception of GSP. While he didn't show much striking against Fitch, it has also looked a lot better in recent fights.

Why not match Maia up with Woodley? They're both coming off huge wins & the scheduling would work out well. Whoever wins that fight would probably deserve a #1 contender shot after that.

On a personal note, I'm thrilled to see Fitch continue to lose after demanding a title shot even though he got smoked by GSP and never showed any measurable improvement in subsequent fights. He never deserved a rematch, took rounds off against lesser opponents, refused to take risks to finish fights, & had generally boring style. Now he's irrelevant. Good riddance.

[Luc1an]

Originally Posted by Sakara=Excitement

Wait....you are comparing what Maia did to Fitch (take him down...take his back...do minimal damage....and not coming close to finishing him) to GSP?

i dont think he was comparing the style in which he got dominated, just that he got dominated.

[Bork_Lazer]

I think he definitely needs the winner of Condit v McDonald, and with a win over one of those 2 he should get a shot.

In terms of posing a threat to GSP, I think that's hard to say. I can see GSP avoiding the ground game all together and out-striking him for 5 rounds. That being said though I think he poses one of the biggest threats in the division, in the sense that he has a bigger chance of landing a sub then I think Hendricks of landing a KO.

[Dr. MMA]

#1 contendor - Winner of Hendricks/Ellenberger (or maybe only Hendricks if he wins)
#2 contendor - Maia vs winner of MacDonald/Condit

Timing wise all of this could work.

Things could get quite interesting if Hendricks loses and MacDonald wins next month (which is what I think will happen). Who faces GSP next then?