In a three round fight Demian Maia dominated Matt Brown.
Brown could not stop Maia from taking him down and controlling his back with the majority of the fight playing out from this position. After finishing his opponent with a rear naked choke Maia is now tied for 3rd place for most submissions in the UFC.
This was Demian’s fifth win in a row giving him an impressive momentum.
The fight followed the same pattern in each round.
Demian Maia would take Matt Brown down. After hitting the mat Maia would quickly secure the rear mount. At this point Brown could not shake him with the only position change coming from an armbar attempt.
Brown’s attempt to free himself from the body triangle and fend off the inevitable submission finally failed in the third round. Maia found the line and worked the first arm in deep. Even though Brown still had partial control of the second arm he had to tap out.
“Great choke finish from Maia. He was patient and relentless and capitalized on every single mistake Brown made to the fullest #UFC198. –Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) May 14 2016”
“Maia has simplified #BJJ for #MMA to a few basic positions to wear you down, chip away and wait till you beat yourself. #UFC198. –Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian). May 14 2016”
Despite Brown’s unarguable power, this submission and losing two fights by decision has left him 2-3 out of his last five fights. Those losses were to current champ Robbie Lawler and former Champ Johny Hendricks. At this point Matt Brown will likely only be handed low level fights unless he can turn his momentum around again. This must be disappointing for Brown and his camp after the anticipation that had built around him being a contender.
That said, Brown took the loss well and showed good sportsmanship with his post fight comments. “I 100 percent respect Demian and his style, that’s why I wanted to fight him. A loss means I found a new way to do things wrong. I will be back in training next week.”
Demian Maia’s BJJ is becoming legendary in the UFC. He dominated respected Jiu Jitsu stylist Gunnar Nelson for a unanimous decision in UFC 194. He has also tapped out Chael Sonnen, Rick Story and Neil Magny. His skill at taking the fight to the ground and controlling his opponent left him unscathed in this bout with Brown.
“Demian Maia has absorbed 12 significant strikes in his last three fights combined. #UFC198 –Michael Carroll (@MJCflipdascript) May 15 2016”
With the momentum and dominance he has demonstrated, Maia the current #6 UFC welterweight, can expect a title bout soon which you can hear in his post fight statement. “He [Brown] was trained to protect his neck. How did a good job. I will improve that. Now, I hope my next fight is for the belt.”
If you are in Portland, Oregon and are interested in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes check out Northwest Fighting Arts.