Source: Tatame

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Demian Maiarecently bounced back from his embarrassing UFC112 title fight against champion Anderson Silva by defeating one of Silva’s pupils via unanimous decision this past weekend at UFC 118. Maia dominated his opponent and, though he was unable to finish his fellow Brazilian via his vaunted ground game, was in control for most every moment of the fight. Maia spoke with Brazilian MMA news source Tatame.com and revealed that the presence of Silva, who toyed with him in their UFC 112 meeting, in Miranda’s corner was a big motivating factor for him to win.

“Of course it did,” Maia said when asked if Silva cornering Miranda motivated him to perform well. “I was glad when I knew he’d be on his corner because I knew it’d motivate me even more. With all due respect to Mário, but I was glad when I heard that Anderson would be on his corner because I knew I’d motivate me even more.”

Maia is certainly a top-tier middleweight fighter but is under no illusions that he is close to getting another crack at the title, citing UFC President Dana White’s post-fight comments and the current line of middleweight contenders as reasons for his belief.

“Man, on the press conference what Dana said, when he was asked about what he thinks [would] be the next step for me, that he still doesn’t know because the division is too busy,” said Maia. “There’s Anderson’s fight with Chael (Sonnen), there’s Vitor (Belfort) who should get a title fight, there’re lots of athletes that are on the front line, so it’s one of the busiest divisions now.”

Maia is currently 2-2 in his last four fights, staggering losses to Nate Marquardtand Silva with victories over Dan Miller and Mario Miranda. His overall record as a professional mixed martial artist is 13-2.

UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II went down on August 28th at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

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By Guilherme Cruz on Tatame

Jiu-Jitsu black-belt, Demian Maia gave a lesson on the ground against his countryman Mário Miranda on UFC 118, but, despite having fit several positions, he could not get the submission. “I got there and I felt I have evolved a lot and I got to the positions I wanted to”, comments Demian. On an exclusive interview given to TATAME, the fighter commented the win over Mário, on his recover after the loss to Anderson Silva in Abu Dhabi, and talked about the extra motivation of seeing his last tormentor on Mário’s corner. “With all due respect to Mário, but I was glad when I heard that Anderson would be on his corner because I knew I’d motivate me even more”, confess the fighter, who comment the rematch between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva, which might happen on 2011.

What did you think of your comeback against Mário Miranda?

I was glad I came back with a win. Of course I’d like it to be due to a submission, but he’s a very slippery guy on the ground, defended himself well, kept himself calm during the whole fight, even when was on a bad position, he’s a good athlete. His professional record already shows he’d be a hard one for everyone on this division. He’s only got one loss in 12 fights, so, for sure, he’d be harsh on everyone.

Where you surprised with his abilities on defending the submissions?

No… I knew he was a Jiu-Jitsu black-belt and a very good Wrestling athlete, so I knew it wouldn’t be easy for me to submit him, but he really defended himself well and I also had some technical mistakes which I might correct. I think it was a good thing for me to have this chance to see what I must improve, but I won’t take his credits of being a high level athlete.

You have dedicating yourself a lot on the boxing trainings and other modalities, besides Jiu-Jitsu. Do you think that this helped you to lose so many positions and could not submit him, once you are training less your Jiu-Jitsu?

I don’t think so, not at all. I keep training a lot of Jiu-Jitsu, I don’t leave it aside… I don’t train only Jiu-Jitsu nowadays, but Jiu-Jitsu represents, at least, 50% of my technical training, so it’s a lot… It’s much more than many people train. I believe I have to chance some things… I got easily on the mount, on his back and arm…. I got to the positions I wanted to. I trained and I felt like I evolved a lot and got to the positions I wanted to. There was only a final detail missing because, besides that, I felt comfortable on getting to the positions…. I trained a lot of Jiu-Jitsu por this fight.

What did Dana White say about your win after the controversy fight with Anderson Silva?

Man, on the press conference what Dana said, when He was asked about what he think it’d be the next step for me, that he still doesn’t know because the division is too busy… There’s Anderson’s fight with Chael (Sonnen), there’s Vitor (Belfort) who should get a title fight, there’re los of athletes that are on the front line, so it’s one of the busiest divisions now.

Anderson was on Mário’s corner during the fight, since they are training partners. Did that motivate you more?

Of course it did. I was glad when I knew he’d be on his corner because I knew it’d motivate me even more. With all due respect to Mário, but I was glad when I heard that Anderson would be on his corner because I knew I’d motivate me even more.

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Demian wins at UFC 118, em Boston, Massachusetts, on  Aug 28 2010!

• Post Fight Interview
• News

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Massachusetts, to UFC118

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INTERVIEW

Find more videos like this on BJPENN.COM

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sportsnipe.com

“The opponent and schedule changes affected me just a bit. I had to speed up the process a little. I was at Bahia and had excellent boxing preparation that couldn’t be better. At each fight I evolve more as a result of the training. I’m ready for everything. He has wrestling characteristics and owns just one loss. If he is in the UFC, that’s because he’s good and can face anyone. He is also tall for the division.”

Previously scheduled to face Alan Belcher at UFN 22, Demian Maia had to set up a new camp and strategy for the upcoming fight at UFC 118 versus Mario Miranda on Saturday, August 28, in Boston, Massachusetts. The BJJ expert told SenseiSportTV he has trained with boxing coach Luis Dorea to improve his… (Full Story)

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* Event: UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2

*Date: August 28, 2010

* Time: 10PM ET/7PM PT

* Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

* Broadcast: Pay-per-view & Select Movie Theaters

* Theater Tickets: Fathom Events + The Ultimate 4-Pack Special Offer

* Tickets: Ticketmaster & Stubhub

* Betting: Bet on UFC 118

COMPLETE CARD (subject to change):

UFC 118

Boston, US

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Main card:

- Frankie Edgar vs BJ Penn;

- Randy Couture vs James Toney;

- Demian Maia vs Mário Miranda;

- Kenny Florian vs Gray Maynard;

- Marcus Davis vs Nate Diaz;

Preliminary Card:

- Joe Lauzon vs Gabe Ruediger;

- Nik Lentz vs Andre Winner;

- Dan Miller enfrentará John Salter;

- Nick Osipczak enfrentará Greg Soto;

- Amilcar Alves vs Mike Pierce.

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Demian will face Mario Miranda at the event which is scheduled for August 28.

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Next UFC Fight Night event will go down September 15th at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The broadcast is expected to serve as the lead-in to the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck. Headlining the fight card will be Demian Maia — returning from his unsuccessful (and bizarre) five-rounder against Anderson Silva in Abu Dhabi — against fellow middleweight contender Alan Belcher, who is coming off back-to-back stoppages of Wilson Gouveia and Patrick Cote. As the press release tells us, “A victory over Maia will elevate Belcher’s chances for a shot at Anderson’s coveted middleweight crown.” Uh, I think you mean Sonnen’s middleweight crown, bro. The current lineup of “UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Belcher” is below. If you have any early predictions, let’s hear ‘em…

MAIN CARD (officially confirmed)
- Demian Maia vs. Alan Belcher (MW)
- Matt Wiman vs. Mac Danzig (LW; rematch of controversial UFC 115 fight)
- Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau* (LW)
- Ross Pearson vs. Cole Miller (LW)

PRELIMINARY CARD (reported but not yet confirmed)
- Efrain Escudero vs. John Gunderson
- Nick Catone vs. Tomasz Drwal
- Kyle Kingsbury vs. Jared Hamman

http://www.cagepotato.com/demian-maia-vs-alan-belcher-headline-ufc-fight-night-22-austin

UFC Fight Night 22,  Austin, Texas, US

Demian Maia trains for UFC on TATAME TV Thursday 01st of July 2010 02:17 PM

Report and photo Eduardo Ferreira

Coming from a loss to Anderson Silva, the black belt Demian Maia wants to make a good comeback and do a great fight against the American Alan Belcher, and he is working hard for that. On a visit to Rafael Alejarra’s gym, we followed a train of physical preparation of UFC’s athlete for this bout, scheduled for September 15. “He’s without a doubt a tough guy, one of the tops of the division. For me it’s excellent to be back facing a guy of his level”, affirmed the Brazilian. Check below two exclusive videos from TATAME TV with the black belt athlete, who showed us his training and talked about the fight.