Demian Maia |
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GREENMAN!!!!
Career record: 134-73
Season: 50-20 (#178)
Location: selden, new york
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Contrary to popular belief, there were other fighters besides Brock and GSP at UFC 87. Demian Maia took on Jason MacDonald for his 3rd fight in the UFC. now i am a huge fan of Maia's since i saw him come in 2nd at the 2005 ADCC and then eventually win the ADCC in 2007. Maia has also defeated Jacare and Gonzaga at the Mudials and his BJJ is second to none.
in his fight with MacDonald i noticed several things about his MMA transition that i was unable to ascertain in his previous bouts. besides having an improved gas tank and still dangerous guard, Maia showed me something else in his fight; that he is tentative to go for submissions that give up position. i swear to you that i saw at least 5 opportunities for him to sink in an arm triangle choke that would only require him to slide over MacDonald. he also had several attempts for armbars during the time he was attempting GnP and a few shoulder locks were there as well. the only reason i am pointing this out is because i have seen him take advantage of those positions numerous times in BJJ tournaments and normally he wouldn't hesitate at the opportunities. i think he is trying to be more careful in his MMA fight game so as to not give opportunities to get GnPed. i am not saying that t is a bad thing but rather it shows his dedication to transitioning well into MMA. his caution for going for risky subs is not a bad thing, but rather a good thing as it shows he is learning how to adapt to MMA.
i also noticed his clinch game. obviously working with Silva has helped him there and the knees he through were very promising. i didn't get to see enough of his stand-up but at this point it seems to be at the level of Jacare's only not as powerful which could be a problem as we all saw how Mayhem out-classed Jacare on the feet. however, if he continues to work with Wanderlei he can develop a clinch game as he seemed comfortable while in the clinch and i am really excited to see how his stand-up develops. i only hope he continues to work with Wanderlei because right now his stand-up is a weakness and it can be exploited.
i would like to see him fight someone like Nate or maybe even Okami (Maia defeated Okami in grappling tournaments) to see how he handles the bigger grapplers at MW since they would own a definitive strength advantage and i am curious to see how he fares. i would also like to see him fight a striker like Leben to see how he copes or even Cote because at this point it is impossible to say he will be a top fighter at MW. there have been a lot of people who say Maia will be the one to dethrone Anderson, and i am telling you now that he has not shown enough in his last fights to convince me of such. he does have a lot of potential, and keep in mind i am a big fan of his, but he has a lot more to prove before i would declare him "The One".
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Post #1 8/11/08 6:12:43PM
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Laying down the beats
Career record: 192-150
Season: 37-33 (#1810)
Location: Canada
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I noticed his chances that he didn't take too. I notice a lot of guys miss chances to take arm bars. I was never sure if they were fixated on the GnP from the mount and not the armbar or if experienced BJJ guys bait with the arm to get out of the mount.
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Post #2 8/11/08 6:15:00PM
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ObsoleteMan
MMA Regular
Career record: 137-86
Season: 37-22 (#2182)
Location:
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Posted by Rush
I noticed his chances that he didn't take too. I notice a lot of guys miss chances to take arm bars. I was never sure if they were fixated on the GnP from the mount and not the armbar or if experienced BJJ guys bait with the arm to get out of the mount.
I'm no JJ player, but I do remember reading an interview with Bas where he would do said exactly that, leaving an arm out there, figuring his changes of defending an arm bar he knew was coming were better than staying mounted.
Last edited 8/11/08 6:19PM by ObsoleteMan
Edit note/reason: n/a
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Post #3 8/11/08 6:18:59PM
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gravy13
MMA Regular
Career record: 114-78
Season: 35-28 (#4216)
Location: So Cal
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Go post jiujitsufreak74. My friend's and I noticed that as well.
Although I was impressed by Maia's ground game, the thing that I wasn't impressed with was the fact that he had MacDonald in so many submissions and he could not finish him. That could also be credited to MacDonald sub defense. It seemed like he had many opportunities to finish the fight earlier. All in all it was an awesome fight though.
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Post #4 8/11/08 6:27:06PM
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RMFG_187
MMA Sensei
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Career record: 129-84
Season: 38-24 (#1754)
Location: Toronto, Canada
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I guess he had respect for Jason's Ground game. I noticed he didnt go for some low % armbars, but went for Triangle in guard, and RNC's for back control. I guess he just didn't want tot lose position, seeing as how its pretty hard to sub someone if they got side mount.
EDIT: btw, he is a top 10 MW, but thats not saying much.
Last edited 8/11/08 6:30PM by RMFG_187
Edit note/reason: n/a
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Post #5 8/11/08 6:29:03PM
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loller90278
MMA Sensei
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Career record: 164-119
Season: 34-19 (#2756)
Location: Redondo Beach
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what i didn't understand was why maia didn't position macdonalds arm in the traditional correct way during the triangle attempt. it's much easier to escape the triangle if your arms are not pinned..
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Post #6 8/11/08 6:36:43PM
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GREENMAN!!!!
Career record: 134-73
Season: 50-20 (#178)
Location: selden, new york
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Posted by loller90278
what i didn't understand was why maia didn't position macdonalds arm in the traditional correct way during the triangle attempt. it's much easier to escape the triangle if your arms are not pinned..
yeah i noticed that too. i was saying to my friends that instead of just squeezing and pulling on the head he should have moved his arm across his neck first and then grab the head. i was very surprised Maia wasted that attempt and didn't pull it off properly. i guess he just figured it was a matter of time and he didn't want to alleviate any pressure to move the arm across. after i thought about it i guess he just figured he couldn't stop the pressure or Jason would definitely pop out and that it was in half decently anyway so he went for broke with a non-proper triangle that he already had on.
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*~*~*~Green Man for President*~*~*~
if you want to know my accolades, just look at the six badges because they were literally too long to list. (damn 500 character limit)
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Post #7 8/11/08 6:40:21PM
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Ridin the MMA WW since 02 !
Career record: 157-77
Season: 53-17 (#2)
Location: Long Beach
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Yeah I did notice that an Arm was just waiting to be taken but he didn't , It was like the Abaddi vs Herman situation when he had Mount and he was Pounding on Danny and he gave up his Arm. That's what I thought Maia was going to do. He is also Active with his Guard, that was a Nice Triangle he had on there.
Also, his Leg Kicks looked like they hurt, so Yes the work with Wandy is paying off
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Post #8 8/11/08 7:10:23PM
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Aether
MMA Sensei
Career record: 120-82
Season: 38-23 (#2266)
Location: Canada
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I assumed that this was because he realized Jason's biggest strength is also jiu-jitsu, and the fact that Jason came in, took the fight straight to the ground, and actually had him in trouble a couple of times might have made him especially tentative to give up a dominant position for fear that if the bigger MacDonald managed to capitalize on his loss of position after a failed submission attempt he would be in a more dangerous situation than he wished to place himself. I think this was mostly a matter of respect for his opponent's ability, why go for a high risk sub attempt if you can grind it out and wait for a better opening that won't compromise position against an opponent with the ability to capitalize on a potential mistake.
As far as the triangle I wasn't sure about that. Everyone in the bar was screaming and I was telling my friends that you could clearly see his shoulder was not being pushed into his neck. I would have to take another look to get a better idea of what Maia was seeing or thinking from his position. Did Jason escape from that triangle by stacking him? I will have to watch it again, I can't remember it clearly enough, but possibly he was trying to set up an armbar transition and wasn't in the position to make the transition when Jason escaped. It seems unlikely that someone of his level would just apply it poorly.
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Post #9 8/11/08 7:17:50PM
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postman
MMA Sensei
Career record: 149-93
Season: 42-28 (#1631)
Location: Delmont ,Pa
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jiujitsufreak74 Great post I got to spread the love again. I saw all the same things you saw I had the feeling that Maia felt like MacDonald was giving him the arm so he could counter the arm bar attempt and Maia would lose the mount. I think that should have been fight of the night over GSP Fitch. very seldom was GSP even close to losing that fight went back and forth and had a finish both guys at several times were close to losing. I really enjoyed that fight allot and I have to agree with Rogan when at the end of the first (I think) he said it was a privilege to watch that fight.
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Post #10 8/11/08 7:30:50PM
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GREENMAN!!!!
Career record: 134-73
Season: 50-20 (#178)
Location: selden, new york
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Posted by Aether
As far as the triangle I wasn't sure about that. Everyone in the bar was screaming and I was telling my friends that you could clearly see his shoulder was not being pushed into his neck. I would have to take another look to get a better idea of what Maia was seeing or thinking from his position. Did Jason escape from that triangle by stacking him? I will have to watch it again, I can't remember it clearly enough, but possibly he was trying to set up an armbar transition and wasn't in the position to make the transition when Jason escaped. It seems unlikely that someone of his level would just apply it poorly.
i think it was a matter of MacDonald maneuvering his arm out of danger when Maia locked his legs. it was then too late for Maia to move his arm across his neck without alleviating pressure on the choke and since MacDonald has good defensive JJ he figured if he relaxed just for a second he would get out anyway. you can still get the choke without the arm and he probably figured if he squeezed hard enough he could get it, but MacDonald knows enough about JJ to understand he was not in too much danger, and yes he did stack him a bit to get out...at least if i am remembering correctly.
_______________________________________
*~*~*~Green Man for President*~*~*~
if you want to know my accolades, just look at the six badges because they were literally too long to list. (damn 500 character limit)
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Post #11 8/11/08 7:31:22PM
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Aether
MMA Sensei
Career record: 120-82
Season: 38-23 (#2266)
Location: Canada
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Yeah that may be the case. I knew Jason did the chicken wing (that's my technical grappling terminology right there) as Demian locked his legs so that his shoulder was popped down, I wasn't entirely sure why he held it for so long though. He could also have realized he wasn't getting the choke and simply wanted to try to wear and tire him out a bit by forcing an escape.
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Post #12 8/11/08 8:02:02PM
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Santa Says: No Stampeding!
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Career record: 189-104
Season: 49-21 (#388)
Location: Where the Tall Corn Grows
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I agree with you, and would add that what really impressed me was Maia's demeanor from top position. He moved quickly to mount, and then was dishing out some really effective GnP, which is something we don't always see Jits guys do.
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Post #13 8/11/08 8:11:46PM
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postman
MMA Sensei
Career record: 149-93
Season: 42-28 (#1631)
Location: Delmont ,Pa
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If you listen to it Rogan was like thats a rap ladies and Gents! kinda the mid set Maia has you in a triangle your not getting out. Alot of guys will Tap because they know who has them and in what so they concide without trying. Not saying Maia was cocky but me may have thought that was going to be the case for Macdonald and almost was (there was a point he thought of tapping) but Macdonald stuck it out.
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Post #14 8/11/08 8:13:27PM
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The Axe Kick Murderer
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Career record: 159-78
Season: 51-19 (#39)
Location: who's asking?
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Yea, I think he rather now risk loosing position going for a sub from mount, but I also think he didnt want to waste energy on subs that he was 100% sure on. Had he failed with a couple subs, he probably would have gassed to the level of which he couldnt pull anymore subs. Patience, a great attribute for such a technician.
Very impressed also, Jason is no joke, known mostly as a ground fighter Maia passed his guard effortless and if it wasnt even there. Hopefully he keeps evolving as a fighter and gets a upper tier fighter next, somebody like McCfedries would be a big test for him, which could put in in the top contender spot soon.
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Post #15 8/11/08 8:22:54PM
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