Anderson Silva Versus Demian Maia: Not a Walk in the Park

This Saturday Fighters.com sixth-ranked middleweight Demian Maia (11-1) will step inside the Octagon to do battle against Fighters.com and UFC middleweight champion “The Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4). This will not be the walk in the park for Silva most seem to believe.

UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi is where the fight will take place and many seem to be writing off Maia. While Maia has obvious weaknesses in his stand up game there are other points we must take into consideration. Before doing that though we need to examine Silva and what he brings to the table as one of the most dominant champions in the history of the UFC.

Anderson Silva busted onto the scene by systematically destroying everyone they put inside the Octagon with him. If he should beat Maia he would hold the all-time record for title defenses in a single reign. His next record should he win at UFC 112, would be the most wins in title matches for a career. That record is currently held by both Matt Hughes (41-7) and “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10) who have nine and Silva sits at six currently. Since his introduction to the UFC he has finished every fight except for one and has yet to taste defeat inside the Octagon. Other than a disqualification back in 2006 for an illegal upkick, his last loss was in back in 2004. Dominant is a word that seems to fit perfectly when discussing Silva.

Maia is stepping into the Octagon with a man whose biggest strength is his biggest weakness. We were able to witness just how behind Maia is in the striking game when he decided to stand in his fight with “The Great” Nate Marquardt (29-9-2) at UFC 102. Maia came out looking to use some kicks and in :21 seconds the fight was over after Nate put him out cold with one punch. However after that fight it became very clear that Maia was focusing on his striking when he fought Dan Miller (11-3) at UFC 109. Dan is another fighter in the UFC with very good jiu jitsu but just not on the same level as Maia. Most, including myself, expected Maia to get back to his bread and butter and take the fight to the ground and show Miller just what elite level jiu jitsu is all about. That was not the case in the least bit. Maia actually kept the fight standing and used much improved head movement and a jab that before was nowhere to be found. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea and think that due this I believe Maia can stand and trade with Silva. Miller’s striking is much different than Silva’s and light years apart. However it is a part of the game Maia has improved on and will need to use in order to avoid the big shots from Silva.

The only way I have heard that people think Maia can win is if he can get it to the ground. I think that is pretty obvious but I am shocked by those that think his chances of taking Silva down are slim to none. Silva will easily be the bigger man in this fight but that does not mean Maia can’t take him down.”Hendo” Dan Henderson (25-7) took Silva down and controlled him from top position until he got away from his own game-plan. I know that Maia is not the wrestler Hendo is but look at his fight with another top contender in the division, Chael Sonnen (24-10-1). Maia came out and shocked people by out wrestling Sonnen. There is no question what happened in that fight. He takes his shot, works off of Chael’s whizzer attempt and then uses better wrestling to gain the dominant top position.

This is what people seem to be glossing over when discussing Maia’s chances of taking Silva down. Anderson Silva does have a long reach and strikes from odd angles and Maia will have to avoid that brutal shot to get inside and take this fight to the ground. Yet Maia has much better wrestling than he is being given credit for and I feel he will be able to put Silva on his back. Once there he will have to make sure to not get locked up in the body triangle Silva loves to work off his back and this is where the fight could become quite the battle.

Demian Maia will surprise a lot of people by being able to do what only a could have been able to accomplish thus far, putting Silva in a spot where he is least comfortable. Will Maia walk away the champion this Saturday? I have no idea but I do know Maia should be as easily dismissed as he is being right now from other media outlets.