He’s not exactly a spring chicken anymore, but Demian Maia certainly looked more than capable inside the Octagon on Saturday.
Arguably the greatest jiu-jitsu practitioner to compete for the UFC, Maia was surgical against Lyman Good in one of the featured bouts of UFC Fight Night 144 in Fortaleza, Brazil. The 41-year-old patiently stalked the New Yorker early and shot in for a takedown. “Cyborg” defended the attack, but Maia was relentless and finally took him down. But even though Good climbed back to his feet, he was submerged in deep water.
Maia immediately latched onto Good’s back like a parasite and feverishly worked for a rear-naked choke. Good stood against the cage in an attempt to peel himself free, but the submission savant eventually sunk it in deep and forced the tap out at the 2:38 mark of round one. In victory, Maia became the first fighter to submit Good in 26 professional MMA bouts.
Maia had lost his last three bouts – albeit against top competition in Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman — and rumors of his retirement swirled around the MMA world for months. Maia brushed off the losses as best he could, but a loss is a loss.
“Rationally, I know I’ve lost to the top three in the division,” he said. “But ultimately, not winning is pretty bad. It had never happened in my life. I had only lost twice in a row and only twice in my career. But I was able to deal with this situation because of the maturity I have today.”
The Brazilian is nearing the end of his current UFC contract and whether Maia only fights twice more and then retires from MMA will be determined in time. He’s one of the best grapplers the sport has ever seen and still looks superb in his 40s, but the Brazilian admitted that his future in the sport is murky.
“I have two more fights on (my UFC) contract,” he said after his win. “I would like to fight at the next event in Brazil to keep up, then one more, and then decide my life, whether I continue or stop.”