Two of the best grapplers in the welterweight division of the UFC collided on Dec. 12, 2015 at UFC 194 inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada: BJJ black belts Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson.

Maia is a former ADCC champion and faced ADCC bronze medalist Nelson in a fight that many grappling fans were looking forward to.

The fight was completely dominated by Maia with the judges scoring it: 30-26, 30-25 and 30-25 for the Brazilian.

Nelson talked about the tough loss and how he is dealing with it.

Gunnar Nelson told MMA Fréttir:

“It does hurt a bit to think about the fight and the whole experience. You are never truly over a fight like that until you get back in there and fight again. I believe I learned a lot from this fight and I just look forward to getting back in there. To be honest, that is what I think about the most, just the future.”

“I felt horrible immediately after the fight. I thought I performed terribly and was simply miserable after the fight. It just wasn’t my night and I felt it as soon as the fight began. I just couldn’t get myself going. A win over Maia would have put me close to the top but that’s the way it is. This is what it´s like to be an athlete. There is nothing else to do except get back on your feet and keep going.”

“Losses always teach you something, but if there is one thing I can learn from the Maia fight is that I can survive for damn long. Although I was in bad spots again and again against a guy who should be able to finish the fight from most positions, I still managed to survive. That fight was all about survival and you need to learn that as well.”

 

After the fight, both fighters talked about plans to train together in the near future.

According to visir.is, Maia will train with Nelson in 2016. After the fight, Maia told Nelson’s father that he wanted to train with his son.