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| Can Demian Maia finally earn his overdue title tilt? |
A stylistic matchup for the ages takes place in Texas this weekend, as expert grappler Demian Maia faces feared striker Jorge 'Gamebred' Masvidal, with the victor most likely facing reigning Welterweight king Tyron Woodley. Arguably the greatest pure Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner in all of mixed-martial arts today, Demian Maia has seen a huge rise in his success since his move from 185lbs, finishing some of the best in the Welterweight division in the form of Rick Story, Matt Brown and Neil Magny, before making incredibly easy work of former interim champion Carlos 'The Natural Born Killer' Condit in their main event clash back in August last year, securing a rear-naked choke win just under two minutes into the premier round, avoiding any real damage in the process. The highlight reel win over Condit really cemented Maia as a top Welterweight challenger and in many people's eyes, earned him a second chance at UFC gold, although Stephen Thompson was twice preferred as the challenger to 'The Chosen One' facing him at both UFC 205 and just recently, a decision loss at UFC 209. Another man who has seen vast glory since his move in weight, is Jorge Masvidal. After a close decision loss to Al Iaquinta, 'Gamebred' finished Cezar Ferreira before losing to cream of the crop strikers Lorenz Larkin and Benson Henderson. Masvidal has since looked unstoppable, finishing Jake Ellenberger after a Ross Pearson win, and to many people's surprise, stopped the run of 'Cowboy' Cerrone with a huge second round KO. Masvidal presents a hugely stiff opponent for Maia, particularly with his boxing which is some of the best in the UFC today. If Maia can get Masvidal to the ground early on he is surely on his way to yet another stream rolling and submission victory, but the question remains, can the Brazilian deal with the striking of Masvidal, considering top strikers like Rory MacDonald, Nate Marquardt and Anderson Silva all caused him problems. For me, Masvidal clips Maia and similar to the Cerrone finish, scores a knockout win after a barrage.
Jorge Masvidal via knockout.
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