Demian Maia was born on 6 November 1977 and is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
74 Facts About Demian Maia
2.
Demian Maia competed in both the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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Demian Maia has competed in two UFC title fights, losing against Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2010 and Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight Championship in 2017.
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Demian Maia began at the age of four and trained until he was six.
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Demian Maia finished college and graduated with a degree in journalism.
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Demian Maia is currently a fifth-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has won several major tournaments under Team Brasa.
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Demian Maia has previously credited a three-hour private lesson he once took with Rickson Gracie as one of the moments that had the biggest impact on his approach to Jiu-Jitsu and changed it entirely.
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Demian Maia's grappling prowess is so highly regarded among MMA fighters that noted heavyweight submission artist and fellow BJJ black belt Frank Mir hired him as his head jiu-jitsu coach prior to his UFC 100 title fight with Brock Lesnar.
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Demian Maia has defeated top-ranked UFC middleweight and multiple-time Mundial champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, as well as former UFC heavyweight title challenger and Mundial champion Gabriel Gonzaga twice in grappling competition.
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Demian Maia defeated Sosa by TKO in just 48 seconds to win his MMA debut.
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Early in the first round, Stout's shoulder popped out of its socket after Demian Maia reversing him into a mount, causing a stoppage due to injury.
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Demian Maia was originally matched against veteran Marvin Eastman, but Eastman pulled out due to eye surgery.
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Demian Maia won by rear naked choke in the first round and was awarded the Submission of the Night award, which paid him an extra $40,000.
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Demian Maia next fought TUF 3 finalist Ed Herman, another Team Quest fighter, at UFC 83 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 19 April 2008.
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Demian Maia defeated Herman by technical submission due to a mounted triangle choke at 2:27 of the second round.
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Demian Maia again earned Submission of the Night honors for the victory, which paid him $75,000.
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Demian Maia's third fight was at UFC 87 where he took on fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jason MacDonald.
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Demian Maia went on to defeat MacDonald by rear naked choke at 2:44 of the third round, earning $60,000 for another Submission of the Night bonus.
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Demian Maia defeated heavy handed striker Nate Quarry at UFC 91 by rear naked choke in the first round.
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Demian Maia then transitioned to a triangle choke, forcing Sonnen to tap at 2:24 of the first round.
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Demian Maia faced Dan Miller on 6 February 2010, at UFC 109.
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Demian Maia won the fight via unanimous decision.
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Demian Maia was then expected to fight Alan Belcher on 15 September 2010, at UFC Fight Night 22.
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Demian Maia faced Kendall Grove on 4 December 2010, at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale.
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Demian Maia faced Mark Munoz on 11 June 2011, at UFC 131, where he lost a close contest by unanimous decision.
26.
Demian Maia defeated Jorge Santiago on 8 October 2011, at UFC 136 by unanimous decision.
27.
Demian Maia was expected to face Michael Bisping on 28 January 2012, at UFC on Fox 2.
28.
However, Bisping replaced an injured Mark Munoz on the same card against Chael Sonnen, while Demian Maia faced undefeated Chris Weidman at the event.
29.
The bout was stopped in forty-seven seconds by referee Mario Yamasaki, after Demian Maia took Kim down and finished him with strikes from the mounted position.
30.
Demian Maia fought Rick Story on 13 October 2012, at UFC 153.
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Demian Maia defeated Story via first round submission due to a neck crank.
32.
Demian Maia next faced Jon Fitch on 2 February 2013, at UFC 156.
33.
Penn and his gameplan against Fitch at UFC 127, which Demian Maia admitted he emulated to earn his victory.
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Demian Maia was expected to face Josh Koscheck on 3 August 2013, at UFC 163.
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However, Koscheck was forced out of the bout with an injury and as a result, Demian Maia was pulled from the card as well.
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Demian Maia faced Rory MacDonald at UFC 170 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 22 February 2014.
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Demian Maia was expected to face Mike Pierce on 31 May 2014, at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale.
38.
Demian Maia was expected to face Mike Pyle on 23 August 2014, at UFC Fight Night 49.
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Demian Maia faced Ryan LaFlare on 21 March 2015, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 62.
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Demian Maia faced Neil Magny on 1 August 2015, at UFC 190.
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Demian Maia won the fight via submission with a rear-naked choke in the second round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.
42.
Demian Maia was briefly linked to a fight with Gunnar Nelson on 24 October 2015, at UFC Fight Night 76, but the bout did not materialize for that event as Demian Maia was sidelined with a staph infection on his left leg.
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Demian Maia won the one-sided fight via unanimous decision.
44.
Demian Maia faced off against Matt Brown on 14 May 2016, at UFC 198.
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Demian Maia won the fight via submission in the third round.
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Demian Maia next faced Carlos Condit on 27 August 2016, in the main event at UFC on Fox 21.
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Demian Maia dominated the fight after quickly getting Condit to the ground and finishing with a rear-naked choke.
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Demian Maia faced Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211 on 13 May 2017.
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Demian Maia was able to takedown Masvidal repeatedly and control him on the ground.
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Demian Maia faced Colby Covington on 28 October 2017 at UFC Fight Night 119.
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Demian Maia was tabbed as an injury replacement and faced Kamaru Usman on 19 May 2018 at UFC Fight Night 129 He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
52.
Demian Maia faced Lyman Good on 2 February 2019 at UFC Fight Night 144.
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Demian Maia won the fight via a standing rear-naked choke submission in the first round, becoming the first person to finish Good in his MMA career.
54.
Demian Maia faced Anthony Rocco Martin on 29 June 2019 at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs dos Santos.
55.
Demian Maia faced Ben Askren on 26 October 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 20.
56.
Demian Maia won the grappling affair via submission in round three.
57.
Demian Maia faced Gilbert Burns on 14 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night 170.
58.
Demian Maia lost the fight via technical knockout in round one.
59.
Demian Maia faced Belal Muhammad on 12 June 2021 at UFC 263.
60.
In June, 2021, Demian Maia revealed that he would be returning to grappling competition after he retired from professional MMA.
61.
Demian Maia made his return at BJJ Stars 8 on April 30,2021.
62.
Demian Maia competed in a superfight against fellow MMA veteran Alex Oliveira, submitting him with a triangle choke at 2:11.
63.
Demian Maia was then booked to compete in the main event of Polaris 20 on June 25,2022 against Benson Henderson.
64.
Demian Maia was unable to submit Henderson but controlled the match, winning a unanimous decision.
65.
On February 12,2023, Demian Maia was scheduled to compete against Sangwook Kim in the main event superfight of the Spyder BJJ 'Road to Black' final.
66.
Demian Maia scored 16 points during the match before submitting Kim with an arm-triangle choke.
67.
Demian Maia's fighting style is built around his exceptional abilities on the ground, where he has been able to dominate his opponents.
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Demian Maia has been called the best ground-fighter in the UFC on multiple occasions.
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Demian Maia uses double and single leg takedowns as well as trips to advance to a dominant position and soften his opponent up with ground and pound, waiting for an opening for a submission.
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Demian Maia is confident enough in his striking to close the distance and initiate takedowns.
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Demian Maia has a wife named Renata, who works for a Brazilian magazine.
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Demian Maia listed UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie as his inspiration to begin an MMA career, but lists Royce's brother Rickson Gracie as his primary hero.
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In 2020, Demian Maia opened a new academy in Sao Paulo, which includes a jiu-jitsu museum.
74.
In 2023, Demian Maia began working as a member of the commentary team for UFC Fight Pass Brazil.