It was a good night for the Brazilians at UFC 109 as both Paulo Thiago and Demain Maia picked up wins in pivotal fights in the welterweight and middleweight divisions.
Maia's striking actually looked serviceable last night. I still think he's got a long way to go, but he did a good job on his feet last night. I still want to see him choking fools on the regular, but if he can keep improving his striking he could be really scary. He looked very quick last night with his hands, and he threw some nice combos. There was at least one punch I think would have ended the fight if it would have landed.
Thiago is growing into one of my favorites. He's tough, his striking looks very good, and his hands appear to be pretty heavy, add to that the submission game, and I think some guys at 170 are probably taking notice. Seeing Swick put to sleep with a d'arce choke might be my submission highlight of the year, and it's only February. Now all Thiago needs to do is beat John Fitch for the AKA trifecta.
Posted by RyanC Thiago is growing into one of my favorites. He's tough, his striking looks very good, and his hands appear to be pretty heavy, add to that the submission game, and I think some guys at 170 are probably taking notice. Seeing Swick put to sleep with a d'arce choke might be my submission highlight of the year, and it's only February. Now all Thiago needs to do is beat John Fitch for the AKA trifecta.
I like him mostly because he KOed Koscheck ....but also because I like his style and I feel like he really won't ever quit in a fight. Actually, I think he's a bit like Jon Fitch in that I feel like they have mad determination. But Paulo Thiago has better style than Fitch in my opinion-- Paulo finishes people.
Last edited 2/7/10 3:19PM by State_Champ Edit note/reason: n/a
