DEMIAN — Demian Maia

BIOGRAPHY

As a child, Demian Maia, had his first contact with the fighting world. First with Judo, Karate and Kung-Fu, which he practiced for seven years. It was at the age of 19, already envisioning a career in MMA, that he started to practice the martial art that would become his greatest passion: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Demian dedicated himself intensely to the sport, often training three or four times per day. He achieved his black belt in only 4 years and 7 months of training, which is pretty much a record for the standards of those days in Brazil.

His dedication earned him two World titles, three World’s Cup titles, one Pan American Championship, two North American Championships, one Brazilian championship, seven São Paulo State Jiu-Jitsu Championships and one ADCC title.

Along with his accomplishments in the "Gentle Art" (as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is also known), Demian Maia was gradually "putting on" his MMA gloves. His first professional bout was in 2001, in Venezuela. Five more bouts followed, including the impressive Super Challenge Championship win, winning three fights in one night in late 2006. Finally in 2007 he was invited to compete in the most prestigious MMA event in the world, the UFC.

For 13 fights, from 2007 to 2012, Demian competed as a Middleweight in the UFC, even competing for the belt against fellow Brazilian Anderson Silva in 2010 (UFC 112) losing the fight in a judges decision after all five rounds of the bout. He also won four submission of the night awards, a record at that time.

In 2012 Demian decided to go down in weight class and compete as a welterweight. He quickly made a statement with three consecutive wins in the division. After a small set back with two decision losses in late 2013 and early 2014 he would go on to accomplish one of his greatest feats in the Octagon.

Seven consecutive wins in the UFC making him the all time leader for wins in the octagon amongst all Brazilian fighters. This win streak culminated with a shot at the welterweight title. With a short notice training camp of about four weeks he was given a chance to fight for the championship in July of 2017. After five rounds he lost by judges decision. Demian remains among the UFC welterweight divisions top five fighters. He is also the current record holder for most time spent in the UFC top ten per division, a record made even more impressive by the fact he has remained a top ten fighter in not one but two weight classes across most of his career shoulder to shoulder with some of the pound for pound greatest mixed martial artists of all time.

MMA

UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship

Win 24–6 Carlos Condit - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on FOX 21: Maia vs. Condit
Win 23–6 Matt Brown - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic
Win 22–6 Gunnar Nelson - Decision (unanimous) UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor
Win 21–6 Neil Magny - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia
Win 20–6 Ryan LaFlare - Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare
Win 19–6 Alexander Yakovlev - Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale
Loss 18–6 Rory MacDonald - Decision (unanimous) UFC 170
Loss 18–5 Jake Shields - Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields
Win 18–4 Jon Fitch - Decision (unanimous) UFC 156
Win 17–4 Rick Story - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 153
Win 16–4 Dong Hyun Kim - TKO (muscle spasm) UFC 148
Loss 15–4 Chris Weidman - Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis
Win 15–3 Jorge Santiago - Decision (unanimous) UFC 136
Loss 14–3 Mark Muñoz - Decision (unanimous) UFC 131
Win 14–2 Kendall Grove - Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale
Win 13–2 Mario Miranda - Decision (unanimous) UFC 118
Loss 12–2 Anderson Silva - Decision (unanimous) UFC 112
Win 12–1 Dan Miller - Decision (unanimous) UFC 109
Loss 11–1 Nate Marquardt - KO (punch) UFC 102
Win 11–0 Chael Sonnen - Submission (triangle choke) UFC 95
Win 10–0 Nate Quarry - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 91
Win 9–0 Jason MacDonald - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 87
Win 8–0 Ed Herman - Technical Submission (mounted triangle choke) UFC 83
Win 7–0 Ryan Jensen - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 77