MAIA KNOWS THE TITLE WILL BE HIS ONE DAY
How a fighter reacts to a loss can sometimes define where he will go for the rest of his career. It seems it's even more amplified when a fighter is knocked out.
That was the case for Demain Maia, who came into UFC 109 following a devastating knockout loss to Nate Marquardt in his last fight, but bounced back with a solid win over Dan Miller on Saturday night.
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace showed massive improvements in his stand-up game, where he out struck Miller for the majority of the fight before taking him down in the third round to seal up the victory.
Maia says testing his striking was the strategy all along, and he's happy he got to show off some more of his skills this time.
"No, I think it was my choice to fight stand-up for this fight," Maia said after the win. "I didn't try too much to take him down, I could pull guard like I do many times, but he's familiar, I think one of the toughest guys. I landed some good punches and he's still fighting, for me he was very tough."
Although Maia and Miller clinched and hit the mat a few times in the bout, the Brazilian was confident in his hands, while also respecting his opponent's dangerous ground game as well.
"I'm training my wrestling, but I didn't want to spend too much energy to take him down cause I wanted to prove myself that I could fight stand up," Maia stated. "He was tough on the ground. He does much when he fights on the ground. I took him down and he stood up right away. I said okay let's fight stand-up, I want to fight stand-up with you."
Maia won by unanimous decision to defeat Miller, and UFC president Dana White knows how hard it can be to bounce back from a loss like he did and gave Maia his props for the win.
"He definitely had a tough fight his last fight, but it's one of those sports that anyone can get caught on any given night, and he did that night," White commented. "Came out tonight, fought a very tough guy, wasn't a big crowd pleasing fight, but you know what, that happens sometimes. He won, and he's in the mix in that (185-pound) division."
Before his fight with Marquardt it looked like Maia was on the fast track to a title shot, but the knockout loss derailed those plans just a bit. Still, the ground master feels that his time will come.
"My last loss was very frustrating for me because I was almost there (for a title shot). Let's see what will happen. I don't want to make plans, I just want to fight," said Maia. "I want to fight for the title. I know it will come one day. I know I will have this title one day."
WITH WIN OVER TRIGG, MATT SERRA STAYING AT 170
In an age of mixed martial arts when everyone seems to be experimenting with shifting weight classes, Matt Serra, fresh off a win over Frank Trigg at tickets.com/Sports/Ultimate-Fighting-Championship-Tickets.html"title="" >UFC 109, says he is happy staying put.
Following several years at lightweight, he made the move to welterweight, losing to Karo Parisyan. He emerged a year later as part of “The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback.” He won the show, earning a shot at champion Georges St-Pierre, whom he promptly knocked out to claim the title.
He had to return the belt in their rematch a year later and then dropped a close decision to Octagon legend Matt Hughes, but Serra has proved he can more than hang at 170 pounds. This is especially true when you consider these are opponents that typically weigh in at 195 pounds or more when they’re not close to fight time.
Serra could follow the same formula and get down to 155 pounds again, but he just doesn’t see it as a good approach for him.
“I’ll fight at a catchweight, but I’m not going to 155. Leading up to the fight, people are like, technically you can make it, but it’s (expletive) brutal man. It’s not just because I love the pasta, of course I love the pasta,” quipped the Italian-American from New York.
“If I went on a very strict diet, could I get down there? Is it physically possible? Yeah, sure it is. But whoever says that doesn’t have to get in the sparring and the workouts that I have to get through.”
Staying at welterweight isn’t something Serra does because it’s easy. He just doesn’t see much, if any, of an advantage in focusing more on his diet and less on his workouts.
“I do the right thing. I’m not at 170 because I’m lazy,” he told MMAWeekly.com. “It’s not like it’s any easier time down (at 155), those (expletive) are quick.”
When you compare him to the Randy Coutures of the world, Serra is a spring chicken. But at 35 years of age, his body doesn’t respond quite the way it did when he was that 25-year-old kid who was anointed Renzo Gracie’s first American black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“I eat right. I have energy for when I’m training. I’m disciplined, regardless, but I get through my hard training sessions, my sparring sessions... I’m 35 now. Last time I made lightweight I was at least 29. It’s gets a little more difficult,” he admitted.
Serra made it look fairly easy on Saturday night, however, knocking Trigg out in just 2:23 of the first round.
With such an impressive win, we’re sure to see Serra back in the Octagon soon. But with no immediate fight penciled in yet, he’s headed back home to bask in his victory. And what better way for to bask than in a good red sauce?
“At my in-laws, I’m gonna have a crazy party, and then at night I’m going to my mother’s. So I’m just gonna have marinara sauce coming out of my eyeballs.”
COUTURE FOCUSED ON FIGHTS, NOT TITLES
Last Saturday night, Randy Couture once again defied the odds and maybe even logic to a certain extent that a 46-year-old fighter could still compete at the highest levels of MMA, but that's exactly what he did when he defeated Mark Coleman.
The ageless wonder won the first ever battle of UFC Hall of Famers, and Couture says that the game plan and strategy worked out beautifully as he secured a rear naked choke to put Coleman away in the second round.
“Use that distance, keep him at the end of my punches. Make him go through that jab to get to that double-leg. I knew going in that Mark’s style hasn’t changed in a long time," Couture said after the fight.
"He’s going to find a way to put you on your back. That’s where he’s strongest. That’s where he wins a lot of his fights, so I wanted to make that difficult for him. I felt if I got to the clinch I would have a distinct advantage with the Greco background that I have, and it payed off. We took a lot out of him in those positions.”
Being very active over the last year has helped Couture gain more knowledge and his body has reacted very well. He says there was no slacking in camp as he prepared for the former UFC heavyweight champion.
“I took Mark very, very seriously. I saw him as a dangerous guy," Couture commented. "The camp was very good. We put in a lot of time. We prepared on worst-case scenario on up and I’m going to do that every single time out there. I’m very happy to get the submission win.”
UFC president Dana White sang Couture's praises all week leading up to the fight saying he believed the former light heavyweight champion was still a top five talent in that division right now. He again proved it when he beat Mark Coleman.
To hear the former Team Quest leader tell it, he's more concerned about the fight and he'll leave rankings up to those that make them.
"I don't really think about those things," said Couture about his place in the sport right now. "I'm more interested in the guy they're going to throw in front of me next, and kind of analyzing him, and solving the puzzle he presents, and coming up with the equation that answers the questions and issues that he poses to me as an athlete. All the rest of the stuff goes away."
As for the next opportunity, the questions immediately came up after Couture's win if he could be in line to face the winner of Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, or where he falls in title contention.
Couture quickly plays that off and says ultimately it's all about the fight right now, and titles are just something he's now worried about.
"The titles have come, the titles have gone. All that's great, it's the icing on the cake, but if I spend a bunch of time worrying, focusing on those things, you get tight, I'm not having fun," Couture stated. "I'm more worried about coveting those sorts of things instead of just doing what I love to do, which is compete."
Couture will definitely be competing again, most likely this summer, as the UFC starts to build up some major shows heading all over the world this year.
MMAWEEKLY WORLD MMA RANKINGS UPDATED
The latest MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday, Feb. 10. This system ranks the Top 10 MMA fighters from all across the world in each of the seven most widely accepted weight classes.
Taken into consideration are a fighter's performance in addition to his win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most comprehensive rankings system in the sport.
Fighters who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible for Top 10 consideration until they have fought one time after the completion of their suspension.
Fighters must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to be eligible for Top 10 consideration.
Below are the current MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings, which are up-to-date as of Feb. 10.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (over 205 pounds)
#1 Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Frank Mir
7. Brett Rogers
8. Shane Carwin
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Fabricio Werdum
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)
#1 Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Lyoto Machida
2. Rashad Evans
3. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
6. Gegard Mousasi
9. Randy Couture
10. Thiago Silva
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION (185-pound limit)
#1 Middleweight Fighter in the World: Anderson Silva
3. Chael Sonnen
4. Nathan Marquardt
6. Jake Shields
7. Demian Maia
8. Robbie Lawler
9. Yoshihiro Akiyama
10. Mamed Khalidov
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (170-pound limit)
#1 Welterweight Fighter in the World: Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
5. Paul Daley
6. Paulo Thiago
7. Matt Hughes
8. Dan Hardy
9. Nick Diaz
10. Martin Kampmann
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION (160-pound limit)
#1 Lightweight Fighter in the World: B.J. Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alvarez
5. Tatsuya Kawajiri
6. Joachim Hansen
7. Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante
8. Gray Maynard
9. Frankie Edgar
10. Gilbert Melendez
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION (145 pound-limit)
#1 Featherweight Fighter in the World: Jose Aldo
2. Mike Brown
3. Urijah Faber
4. Raphael Assuncao
5. Hatsu Hioki
6. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue
7. Manny Gamburyan
8. Leonard Garcia
9. Bibiano Fernandes
10. Josh Grispi
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
BANTAMWEIGHT DIVISION (135 pounds or less)
#1 Featherweight Fighter in the World: Brian Bowles
2. Miguel Torres
3. Masakatsu Ueda
4. Dominick Cruz
5. Damacio Page
6. Joseph Benavidez
7. Scott Jorgensen
8. Takeya Mizugaki
9. Brad Pickett
10. Charlie Valencia
FITCH DOESN’T THINK HARDY DESERVES TITLE SHOT
The No. 2 ranked welterweight in the world, Jon Fitch (21-3-1), rematches Thiago Alves (16-6) at UFC 111 on March 27 in hopes of getting another shot at the UFC 170-pound title with a win.
Current titleholder Georges St-Pierre (19-2) fights Dan Hardy (23-6) the same night. Fitch thinks others have done more to deserve an opportunity at the belt than the brash Brit.
“I think there are other fighters in the weight class that have done more work and fought tougher opponents,” the American Kickboxing Academy trained athlete told MMAWeekly.com.
Fitch isn’t the only one with those sentiments. Training partner and fellow welterweight contender Josh Koscheck has gone on record saying he doesn’t think Hardy deserves the fight with St-Pierre as well.
“No. He doesn't deserve a title shot. It's simple, but I don't make those decisions. They're just trying to get someone for St-Pierre to beat up,” Koscheck recently told Heavy.com.
Fitch’s criticism of Hardy getting a title shot isn’t an attack on Hardy as a fighter. Fitch, the essence of a blue-collar fighter scratching and clawing to get everything he’s got, simply believes in the tradition of earning his way.
“Taking nothing away from Dan Hardy. He’s a great, young prospect,” said the 31-year-old Fitch. “He’s got a bright future ahead of him, but there are guys that have put in more work than him. That’s my opinion. I don’t run the show"
Dana Thinks Coleman Is Done, Not Showing Any Interest In Coleman-Tito Grudge Match
It all started last fall when Tito Ortiz called Mark Coleman a sissy for pulling out of their scheduled fight at UFC 106. Mark Coleman’s manager retaliated by getting a little too personal and taking shots at Tito’s girlfriend, ex-porn queen Jenna Jameson.
“The only thing Coleman is afraid of when it comes to Tito is contracting swine flu from that dirty ass d-bag. We all know where he lays his head down at night. Tito wants to get personal with a legend? OK, let’s get personal – we can all go to our porn collections and watch what Tito sleeps with night after night.”
Mark Coleman never approved of the message his manager sent, and at the time it seemed Tito was going to let it go. Fast forward a few months and it’s become clear he isn’t. During Mark Coleman’s post-fight interview at tickets.com/Sports/Ultimate-Fighting-Championship-Tickets.html"title="" >UFC 109, Tito yelled, “Payback’s a bitch motherfucker,” while Jenna Jameson walked by the cage flipping Coleman off. It was obviously a difficult moment for Coleman who was just minutes removed from losing what he called his dream fight. Coleman, never one to keep his emotions in check, immediately jumped on the mic and blurted back, “Fuck you, Tito… Any fucking time, Tito. Anytime, douchebag.”
Whether Coleman will admit it to himself or not, it’s apparent his time as a UFC fighter is rapidly coming to an end. Still, if there’s one more fight left in the UFC for Coleman, it’s Tito Ortiz. That’s if Dana White keeps him on the roster, and by the way Dana was talking after last night’s event it doesn’t sound like he will be. A Coleman-Tito grudge match might not even be enough to convince Dana to give Coleman one last fight.
“I think tonight was probably Coleman’s last fight in the UFC. I just think he’ll have a hard time competing with the guys at the top of the level. Age is a factor with him…Tito’s talking [expletive] to Coleman after Coleman just lost this fight that he’s wanted his whole life? Tito’s fighting Chuck [Liddell]. I’m not even thinking Tito-Coleman.”
UFC 109 ‘Relentless’ Fighter Payouts
The NSAC has released the fighter payouts for tickets.com/Sports/Ultimate-Fighting-Championship-Tickets.html"title="" >UFC 109. Keep in mind, these figures represent the base contracted pay the fighter receives from the promotion. These figures do not include any additional “locker room” bonuses, pay-per-view revenue sharing, or sponsorship money, which in many cases exceeds a fighter’s base pay. These numbers also do not account for taxes, insurance, and license fees.
Randy Couture led the pack with $250,000. He didn’t receive a win bonus, but it’s pretty well-known that he receives a cut of the pay-per-view revenue. Matt Serra wasn’t too far behind taking home a total of $210,000 with his win and knockout bonuses. Also, Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt broke into the six-figures with their bonuses.
Payouts
Randy Couture: $250,000 (no win bonus)
Mark Coleman: $60,000
Chael Sonnen: $64,000 ($32k + $32k win bonus)
Nate Marquardt: $45,000
Paulo Thiago: $30,000 ($15k + $15k)
Mike Swick: $43,000
Demian Maia: $62,000 ($31k + $31k)
Dan Miller: $15,000
Matt Serra: $150,000 ($75k + $75k)
Frank Trigg: $30,000
Mac Danzig: $40,000 ($20k + $20k)
Justin Buchholz: $8,000
Melvin Guillard: $28,000 ($14k + $14k)
Ronys Torres: $4,000
Rob Emerson: $24,000 ($12k + $12k)
Phillipe Nover: $10,000
Phil Davis: $10,000 ($5k + $5k)
Brian Stann: $17,000
Chris Tuchscherer: $20,000 ($10k + $10k)
Tim Hague: $7000
Joey Beltran: $12,000 ($6k + $6k)
Rolles Gracie: $15,000
Bonuses
$60,000 bonus to each fighter.
Knockout of the Night – Matt Serra
Submission of the Night – Paulo Thiago
Fight of the Night – Chael Sonnen & Nate Marquardt
Total Payout
A disclosed total of $1,184,000, including all bonuses, was paid out to the fighters.
Soares Thinks Sonnen Should Fight Maia Before Silva
Yep, that’s Ed Soares vetoing another title contender for Anderson Silva. It’s definitely becoming a pattern. First it was Dan Henderson, then it was Nate Marquardt followed by Vitor Belfort. Basically no one in the middleweight division is worthy enough to fight Anderson Silva if you ask Soares. Good thing he’s not the matchmaker, otherwise Silva would never fight anybody.
“We are fine if this is what the UFC wants, but if you look at this logistically, Sonnen should fight Demian Maia first. Demian beat up easily, by submission, so why not make them fight first, to determine who gets a shot at the title?”
Intense Training Camp Key To Revitalizing Mirko Cro Cop?
After suffering another heartbreaking loss in the UFC last September, Mirko Cro Cop fired his entire training camp and hired a new one led by Muay Thai trainer Ivan Hyppolite to help him prepare for his upcoming fight against Ben Rothwell at tickets.com/Sports/Ultimate-Fighting-Championship-Tickets.html"title="" >UFC 110. At this point, I don’t think anyone is getting their hopes up that a different camp is the magic solution to Cro Cop’s problems in the cage, but he seems convinced that getting rid of all the yes-men who didn’t push him was exactly what he needed. I still think the majority of Mirko’s problems reside in his head, but hopefully this will give him the confidence he needs to start pulling the trigger again.
It took me all this time to realise that it is impossible to prepare properly without a real good camp and authoritative coach. That was the main fault in my career, I was too lazy to go away to a respected team. Now, I have Hyppolite destroying me on the pads and then I spar six minute rounds with three fresh opponents…The problem before was that I was sparring with friends who were doing me a favour by being there and so I could not go so hard on them, looking for the knockout. In Amsterdam, it was a struggle of life or death. I was looking for the knockout and so was my opponent. In future I will spending a full month in Amsterdam.”
Australia’s Acer Arena hosts UFC 110 weigh-ins on Feb. 20, air live in U.S. on Feb. 19
Official fighter weigh-ins for this month's "UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez" event take place Saturday, Feb. 20, at Acer Arena in Sydney Olympic Park in Australia.
The weigh-ins take place at 4 p.m. local time.
With the time difference, the weigh-ins air in North America on Friday, Feb. 19, at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT). As always, we'll carry a live video stream of the weigh-ins.
Acer Arena also hosts the UFC 110 pay-per-view event, which marks the UFC's Australian debut. The show, which features a headliner between top UFC heavyweight contenders Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez, takes place on Sunday, Feb. 21 in Australia. However, with the time difference between the two continents, the show airs live in its normal Saturday 10 p.m. ET timeslot in North America.
Two hours prior to the weigh-ins, UFC Fight Club members can enter Acer Arena for a Q&A session with UFC president Dana White. The Web site for the UFC's official fan club will carry the event live for members unable to attend the show in person.
As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported, UFC 110 sold out quickly. With a massive pre-sale to UFC Fight Club members and UFC.com newsletter subscribers, the remaining tickets sold out during the first day of the public on-sale date. The sellout happened despite the organization not announcing a single fight for the card.
The full UFC 110 card includes:
MAIN CARD
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
- Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva
- George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson
- Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine
- Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Chris Haseman vs. Elvis Sinosic
- Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
- Brian Foster vs. Chris Lytle
- C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic
- Igor Pokrajac vs. James Te Huna
