UFC welterweight and ADCC champion Demian Maia is back from a serious injury. On March 21, he will headline UFC Fight Night 62 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil against undefeated fighter Ryan LaFlare.
Maia told the media during a UFC media day recently in Rio de Janeiro:
“I’m 100 percent now,” he said. “It was a tough moment for me. I had a terrible bone infection on my shoulder and was in bad shape, especially after my third trip to the hospital. When I recovered, I started training hard and felt great for this fight.”
Maia had a great start in the UFC with five straight submission victories but has only submitted one opponent in the next 14 fights.
About why it’s hard for Jiu-Jitsu fighters to use their game in the UFC and submit their opponents:
“People always go to the ground with me trying to just hold me. They stall and wait for the referee to stand them back up so they can start it all over,”
“It’s hard to fight jiu-jitsu like that, the way rules are today. If we fought like the old days, with no time limit, it would be better to work. We only have five minutes to work per round so it’s complicated, especially because everybody knows that my ground game is good.”
At UFC Fight Night 62 media day, Demian Maia and Ryan LaFlare square off Tuesday afternoon at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
