maia is a good fighter give him some credit, he’s picked apart team quest and could easily beat marquardt if he gets the takedown..

Isn’t really a fighter??? I guess that you’re one these ignorant fools who boos as soon as it hits the mat. This is MMA and most people have a strength.

Its like saying Chuck isn’t really a fighter…he’s just a kick boxer.

Moron.

Wow so the man who is 10-0 isn’t a fighter? Give a man his due. I don’t think he is going to be able to beat Marquardt but he’s dangerous and in no way a Thales Lietes. I hate that people are comparing Maia and his amazing submission art to that chump Lietes. BTW good way to solve this problem is while Henderson and Silva fight (Bispings going to lose to Hendo) we could have the winner of Marquardt Maia fight Okami for a straight title shot. Then we have successfully given the top 5 fighters in the MW division their shot to try and fight and beat Silva. After all that is done Silva can move to LHW permanently.

who the hell knows if maia can strike or not? He improves with every fight…Wanderlei puts him through the ringer in practice….who is to say that Maia can not hang with Marquardt standing? im not saying that Maia might kO him, but we really have no idea what level of stand up he will posses by fight night.

Many of you guys mention how good Marquardt is on the ground, and I agree….but its apples and oranges when comparing ANY American middleweight’s ground game to Maia….Look at J-mac, his jits is probably slightly better then Marquardts, yet he found himself tapping by round 3….Maia is on a completely different level when it comes to Jits. Only middleweights in the world that could survive the ground game of Maia are:
Leites
Almeida
Jacre
maybe Palhares

I actually think Maia would end up subbing all the guys I mentioned minus Jacre who IMO, is the only one on Maia’s Level!

Not enough credit is given to Maia’s ground n pound! I seen him mount many fighters and drop some Brutal elbows down on their face until they loosened up allowing maia to get an advantageous position and go for the mount!

Allthough I dissagree with your prediction on the Bisping/Hendo fight I agree that with the inclusion of Okami against the winner of Maia/Marquardt all contenders will have had there opertunity and silva should move up and let them battle it out for the title.

I also predict that Franklin will suddenly be a MW again when Silva moves up leaving the MW division in a great position with six guys fighting it out for the title (seven if you include Lietes)

Good stuff, I look forward to that

correction:

Not enough credit is given to Maia’s ground n pound! I seen him mount many fighters and drop some Brutal elbows down on their face until they loosened up allowing maia to get an advantageous position and go for the FIGHT ENDING SUBMISSION!

I agree that Franklin will move down to MW once Silva moves up to LHW or retires. IMHO I think Franklin is the number 2 in the MW division even though he lost to Hendo. I think had they had a five round match instead of three that Franklin would have come away with the win. BTW I never want to see Lietes get a shot at any title in any Org. I think we should allow kicks to the head for people who drop to the canvas without going for a takedown or engaging before doing so. Anderson could have kicked him retarded and we would never have to see that chump fight again!

Thank you john.

How can people say Maia can’t strike? We’ve barely seen him standing.

Over the last couple of years, Maia has become one of, if not my top favourite fighter. I do BJJ, and watching someone Maia do his thing is an absolute thing of beauty.

Most people don’t realize just how easily he’s submitting his opponents.

And for about 2 years now, he’s been training his stand-up pretty much exclusively, and for about the last year, has been doing so with Wanderlei Silva. So you know he’s getting hit hard.

Exactly DRedge!!!!!!!!!1 LIke you, I find the art of ju jitus to be a thing of beauty, and Maia has quickly become one of my favorite fighters. His transitions on the ground r truly masterful, and I had no idea his takedowns were so good.

I always thought Jacre and Maia were the best in the world at jits, and I gave a slight edge to Jacre because his GSP-type athleticism and explosiveness make his take3downs really good, and that was the reason I ranked his ground game slightly higher then Maia…but man, I had no idea that Maia had those type of takedowns in his arsenal….Takedowns are what separates Maia and Jacre from other great ground wizards like Leites, and Almeida.

Nate is a tough Kat, this will easily be the toughest test of Maia’s career…I will be rooting for Maia for sure! If he can sub Nate, then Mofo’s better take notice and BOW DOWN!!!

I just saw this really funny GIf…its starts off with a picture of Fedor and the subtitles say:

Fedor: “you call yourself the P4p pound king?”

Anderson appears with his back against the wall, pleading for forgivness: It wasnt my idea it was all Dana’s

Then you see Fedor kick Silva’s head against the wall and Silva’s head explodes leaving a bloody mess against the wall!

Funny as FOCK!

For all peoples who don’t believe JOHN,that FEDOR always fight top opponents,and is a god.Take a look at this!JOHN THIS IS FOR YOU! http://www.mmascraps.com/2009/04/fedor-emelianenko-in-korean-drama-queen.html

I’m a big Jacare fan too. But all around, I’d say Maia is the better fighter. Jacare’s striking is pretty terrible, and when it does look good, it’s only because of said athleticism.

Maia, I think will surprise a lot of people when he gets to show more of his striking skills, and luckily, I know a fight with Nate will provide that.

Marquardt is most definitely the toughest test of Maia’s career, no doubt. Especially after how good Nate looked against Gouviea(sp?), who’s a good striker himself.

But, like I said, Maia training his hands pretty much exclusively, with Wanderlei no less, can’t be a bad thing.

It’s gonna be a tough fight, but I think Maia can pull off a 2nd or 3rd round sub.

Oh yeah!before i forgot,John take a look at Canseco training for is fight….i was sure that i was watching Miur sparring with is awesome striking technique! http://mmaopinion.com/2009/04/30/canseco-in-the-gym/

I agree, I think Maia has what it takes to beat Nate…its just a question of proving it to the doubters….Having wanderlei take you under your wing, is such a valuable asset to his career. I also think all the striking work with wanderlei is going to pay off….1 things for sure, I am positive that Maia is not afraid to get hit!

I cant pick between Jacre and Maia, they are equal in my mind, and I am a huge fan of both fighters.

My dream fight in mma is: Maia vs. Jacre! NO time limits! Fight till one finishes the other!

I have a feeling that Maia will be much better on his feet then many people seem to think!

you guys are making some great points above^^ especially john.

i cant belive the way some peeps are talkina about maia..

It’ll be awesome when Maia defeats everyone he faces via sub up until he gets a title shot against Silva. Silva will inevitably will train primarily on take down and sub defense probably laxing his striking a little bit. Then Maia will come out of the bell with some vicious stand up the likes we have never seen before. Thats a sick scenario, if Maia could even get some standard boxing down so he could get close enough for a take down everytime he’d be unstoppable.

thanks homeboooooooooooy!

well, if you would open your eyes you would have noticed that Maia wins his fights with his jits..
maybe you call Jiu-jitsu matches fights?
anyway that part of his game is so good that he barely even has to fight, he gets a takedown and submits his opponent and that’s it.. lets keep it real he’s flatfooted and seems real heavy and slow in the standup.. It’s like his body is to slow for being good at standup

he is a nice boy like Leites that doesn’t want to hurt anybody, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all, and I love Maia’s BJJ… but to call someone a fighter just because they are in MMA with a great record doesn’t always fit well with me!..

You talk like Maia doesn’t fight in the UFC.

MMA is MMA dude. The ground game IS fighting. So he is a “fighter”. An MMA fighter. If you wanna see people strike, go watch Boxing or K-1. MMA is just as much, if not more, about the ground game than anything else.

“That part of his game is so good, he barely has to fight.”

What does that even mean? You mean he doesn’t have to get hit? He’s “fighting” either way, dude.

Maia has more skills in his pinky then that Idiot Tito, who still doesnt know how to pass guard!

dredge: dont waste your time responding to idiotic posts!

Maia isnt an mma fighter? HA!!!!!!!

No one said Rashad wasnt an mma fighter when he was 10-0, couldnt finish a fight to save his life and just took his opponents, HUMPED their leg, until the judges awarded him a decision……but Maia’s 10-0 isnt good enough to consider him a real fighter? Get a clue!

Lol its not a real fight unless you get punched in the face… and your not a real fighter unless you can punch your opponent in the face! Also Jits and wrestling are just foreplay, the sallies!

Some of the comments are laughable, all aspects of MMA are fighting not just the striking. You don’t have to have a slugfest to have an exciting fight as Maia has proved time and time again. He’s going to suprise a lot of people on this site when he submits their boy Nate and there will be a lot of new fans jumping on the Maia bandwagon.

john man come on, you have to open your eyes on some things… Maia’s standup sucks period! horrible, no potential!..

His BJJ game is so good that he doesn’t even have to fight to win… thought you knew that?..
no, it has nothing to do with his record, he wins fights and that’s all that matters.. Rashad was a wrestler at that time just like Kos was back in the day

Maia can submit ayone, no doubt about it. His jits is unparalleled.

He can also be dominated standing up, and sooner or later it will cost him dearly. I say sooner. You don’t become a good striker overnight. If you aren’t already good at it by Maia’s age, you’ll probably never be more than adequate.

Look at Kos, he has worked for years on his stand-up, but it’s still less than impressive. He has improved, and he has power, but he’ll never be a great kickboxer.

The question is, can Maia take Nate down without accumulating too much damage in the process? And can he keep as big and strong and fundamentally sound a wrestler as Nate down long enough to sink in a submission?

I say no. Nate is a huge step above everyone Maia has defeated. He is going to learn the importance of a deep, multi-dimensional game.

Since they are on the same card, i really wish/hope Big Nog invites him to his gym to train because they are so connected through many guys who are great friends of both – Jacare, Galvao, Wand, etc… They can probly help each other a lot.

Nate overrated? Thats crazy talk! I think its Maia who is being overhyped! You guys are only hyping Maia up cause hes training with Wanderlei.

I’m with you JV. maia is a good fighter with insane Jits, but training with Wandi i don’t think will do much but help his cardio. What else is wandi going to train him other than knees and wild looping punches. If the fight is on the ground a lot Maia’s chances of winning are good, but nate is a more complete fighter, and will come into the fight with a size advantage.

I’m hyping Maia up because he’s undefeated, has a 5-0 record in the UFC, all of his wins have come by submission with 4 of them winning SOTN. Demian is lethal on the ground and his BJJ is leagues above anyone else in the UFC. Wandi being his trainer will help his striking considerably but with a ground game of his standard, Maia doesn’t need KO ability to stop his opponents.

Nate will definitely be his biggest test but I’m confident that Demian will prove that he is the real deal and will collect his 6th consecutive submission win.

Nate isn’t overrated. He actually doesn’t get enough credit. Rewatch his last fight? Hmm…pretty sure I’ll see one of the knockouts of the year. So I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Maia being hyped because he’s training for Wanderlei? Only to the casual fan. Real MMA fans have known about Maia long before he got together with Wanderlei.

with Wanderlei*

shut up, it’s early.

James S: Wanderlei is a very technical striker when he wants to be. I dont think to many fighters could have went toe to toe with Heavyweight cro cop back when Cro cop was a terrorist…Wandy took that fight under modified rules, making it basically a kick boxing fight and fought one of the most technical fights I have ever seen in the sport!

Yeah, but john, now we’re in a time where we have to realize most people talking, don’t know what they’re talking about ;)

jv~

i think they are both overrated~ but still top mw..

i think franklin and hendo both would school marq and maia.

i dont think this fight should be a number 1 contender match.

winner of this fight should fight the winner of bisping/hendo.

as well as the losers from each fight should fight..

^ to add to that:

Seriously…some of the posts on these MMA sites are reaching youtube comment levels of ignorance.

you are RIGHT!

hahahaha THanks Alpha!

You’re right John, Wandi cna be technical when he wants to be. Unfortunately he abondons technical striking for the sake of us fans. Sometimes i forget how good he has been in the past. If he loses to rich it will be 5 losses out of his last 6 fights. i hope he wins in good fashion. i know mirko was HW and larger and wandi was sick aginst hendo, but Wandi needs to get back on the winning path soon.

James and John…
It has more to do than him being technical or not, back in the day he was about as athletic as GSP is today..
He was so fast/explosive/strong that his opponents had no chance, he overwhelmed all of his opponents…
He was never a K-1 striker

Never K-1, but good muay thai striking skills. but yeah, what your saying makes sense. i just hope wandi does well at 185. Rich and him should be a good scrap, but it really does little for either of them in terms of division status. I am ready to see wandi at middleweight.

my point is: yes wanderlei often abandons his technical striking and just throws wildly trying to overwhelm his opponents, but I guarantee that When wanderlei tEACHES someone striking, he teaches the technical side of striking, not his wild style that only works for him!

oK lets see how fair this website is….Im going to try and post a link for the last time, under your link that was posted. Lets see if it appears.

Great new Thales Leites interview:

http://www.mmalinker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30484

I just tried posting another link, yet it NEVER appears! The favoritism around here is getting out of hand. if you are not going to post my links, then I shouldn’t see links posted all over this damn site!

http://www.mmalinker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30484

youtube links should always go through john~

i know what u mean~ i never get a link posted but a youtube link?

always.

haha john~ ur links came up.

and they wernt even youtube links~

its a shame I gotta rant n Bitch just to get one of my zillion links that I have tried posting to show up!

Read the interview…its a good read, after the interview, scrolld own and watch the 15 second GIF of Fedor and Anderson. Funny as FOCK!

True it was funny!Just sad,that was a fast kill!

thats pretty much how i brake it down as well.

good post~ and i agree with most.

but the thing for me is? that i think hendo should never be counted out.

i dont think i could ever bet against hendo cause he is always dangerous.

but realisticly? ur break down makes 100% sense..

i still wont bet on this fight~ i will just enjoy.

but if i had to lean towards a winner?

it would be bisping..for all ur reason listed above~

Agreed, like you I dont count dan out of this one, he hits too hard to do that Im just saying how I feel the fight is going to play out.

Its like they say in MMA dont discount anyones chances.

I wont be surprised if Dan wins but Im expecting Bisping to take it

Bisping has never been knocked out.
- Has he really faced anyone that was of threat to do so?

Bisping has never been held to the mat.
- He also hasn’t faced a wrestler as good as Hendo.

Bisping’s conditioning is unrivaled at MW?
- Fair enough.

Everything I ran through the fight in my head, I see Hendo winning by UD.

To be honest, Hendo is my favourite fighter, and I’ve been watching him struggle since the Rampage loss. Especially with his conditioning. The Palhares fight was almost painful to watch. But he came back strong against Franklin.

So after that fight, and the motivation I believe he’ll have to beat Bisping, I think he’ll do it. Bisping won’t be able to outstrike Hendo badly enough to get the win, and on the ground, it’s all Hendo.

Hendo by UD. I’ll bet the bank on it.

DRedge: Bisping has bveen hit really hard by the BEAST Epstein who has the type of KO power that can KO anyone if he connects right! Bisping beat him twice!

Hendo is one of my all time favorites but I think he isnt the same animal that he was in Pride. He is 39 now, and not everyone can be Randy Couture. IMO, Hendo’s cardiop was always questionable. Watch the Yuki Condo fight in Pride…Hendo’s cardio was PATHETIC!!!!

I think Bisping is one of the toughest to keep on the mat. Like Chuck he is willing to eat a shot or 2 in order to stand up, and it works well for him. Bisping will easily have the cardio advantage over Hendo. I think Bisping is a very under rated and technical striker. He will hold advantages in speed, and footwork and IMO its enough to outpoint the vastly aging Henderson on his way to a Unanimous decision win!

Just my opinion.

I think it sad that if Bisping was AMERICAN, he would be a fan favorite….but since he is british, he is one of the most BASHED fighters in the game. American fans need to wake the FOCK up and smell a rising middleweight!

true words john~

i have been a bisping fan for some time now..

but im a traveling man~ and ive been out to the uk and have friends there..

i also frequent bc and ontario canada and have friends there aswell.

i have seen quite a few quality fighters out of both..

and im as american as it gets~

i gots nothing but love for all fighters from everywhere.

I agree john.

Thats true John, most people seem to hate Bisping because he isn’t American, its like those idiots that boo foreign fighters at live shows. I can understand people liking home town favourites but disliking someone because of their nationality really winds me up.

I’ve got Bisping beating Hendo by UD, Dan hasn’t come close to stopping anyone in the UFC and his cardio is pretty poor, while Bisping’s already faced a top wrestler with powerful hands and Rashad Evans wasn’t able to stop him and only squeaked a SD. However, the I don’t see Bisping beating Silva or Maia and a fight with either of them would result in him being stopped for the first time. I’ve always been a fan of Bisping but I would be cheering for Anderson and Demian over him.

agreed with everything written under my last post!

good stuff guys!

sorry, but IU gotta roll with attackdog on this one!

I dont know if Maia will beat Nate, but I completely understand why Maia is one of the best additions to the UFC in a long time!

either way no one can argue that he isnt great for the middleweight division.

people allways talk about the well rounded fighters but its good to through a specialist in the mix too

great point confused!

Your argument’s irrelevant, maybe he might sneak in at 19, who cares? He’s not top tier and that was my point!

UFC only (source BloodyElbow) – I have too much time at work.
1. Silva (obviously)
2. Okami
3. Nate
4. Hendo
5. Maia
6. Leites
7. Franklin * (weight class in question)
8. Bisping
9. Sonnen
10. Cote
11. Gouveia
12. Dan Miller
13. Alan Belcher
14. Tim Credeur
15. Almedia
16. J-Mac
17. Nate
18. Palhares
19. Dennis Kang
20. Leben

Check out bloodyelbows latest MW rankings. Not saying they’re the bible of the sport or anything, but he doesn’t make their top 25. Clearly somebody agrees with me!

WB-You are only as good as your last fight, and Jmac has been losing too much lately …Herman and Sonnen might be in the top twenty though

robbyc, I had a post of the top 20 according to another site, but mania might have blocked it.

Sonnen at like 9, Jmac 14 and Nate 15. Herman is not on the list. UFC only.

I meant Top 20 in the UFC.

And by your own logic attakdog, they have Sonnen as 17 – ipso facto, you are wrong.

Well obviously he’d be top 20 UFC, but the world of MMA doesn’t begin and end there! The argument wasn’t about Sonnen, you were on about Jason McDOnald being top 20 and clearly he isn’t. You’re an idiot!

Maia is fighting in the UFC, how am I an idiot when I say top 20 and I only include his current possible competition. Yes, I did mention J-Mac specifically but as you said “Okay none of those guys are top 20” I decided to include everyone. So I admit, JMac is not top 20 in the weightclass.

But your statement = wrong.

How wrong was I?? WOW! I said none of the 5, was top 20 and one of them limps in at 17!!! If I said none of them was top 50 I could understand you throwing a paddy, but was it really worth going to war over the ranking of chael sonnen???