The Lowdown 08.14.09: Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia
Posted by Frank Fedele on 08.15.2009
Last week we looked at the superfight on UFC 101 that was anything but super in real life, Forrest Griffin and Anderson Silva. Silva made Griffin look like he was moving in molasses. This week we will look at a matchup on UFC 102 between two middleweight contenders for Anderson Silva’s crown, Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia. Join us for that and more in the Lowdown.
Last Week Roundup
Can I just say, wow? That sure didn't last long. I thought Griffin would at least put up a little challenge for Anderson Silva, at least causing him to work up a little sweat. None of that happened as Silva just beat down Griffin in short order making Forrest look as bad as I have ever seen him. Silva made Griffin look really slow with his striking and barely got touched if at all. I guess we can now say that Silva is out of his funk now, huh?
Silva is going to need an opponent for his next bout and that may come from the Middleweight division this time. One candidate might be the winner of this matchup on UFC 102, Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia.
Nate Marquardt
Okay, I am sensing a trend in the UFC's matchmaking. This is yet again a matchup of a solid striker in Marquardt and an amazing grappler in Demian Maia. Marquardt is the veteran and has faced Silva once before, falling to him in UFC 73 by TKO in the 1st round. Marquardt has tried to move back up the ladder back into the top contender position, with a minor slip in his loss to Thales Leites. Anderson Silva disposed of Leites in the fight before Griffin, so he is out the picture now. Since the Leites fight, Marquardt has won two straight. This will be his biggest challenge to date in Demian Maia.
Nate Marquardt
Marquardt came to MMA via a traditional martial arts background, working Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, Wing Chun and Kenpo along the way. Marquardt saw Royce Gracie during the early UFC days and was hooked from that point forward. Marquardt is now fighting in the Greg Jackson camp.
Marquardt began his career in 1999 in local tournaments, eventually being noticed by the Pancrase organization in Japan. Marquardt fought there from 2000 until his move to the UFC in 2005, winning the King of Pancrase Middleweight championship three times. He won his first four fights in the UFC until losing to Anderson Silva for the title. Since that time he has been 3-1.
Marquardt's Fight Record
Nate Marquardt's MMA Record Middleweight
1999
WVF – Durango: Win versus Mike Lee by Submission
RITR – Rumble in the Rockies: Win versus Josh Medina by Submission (Choke)
RITR – Rumble in the Rockies: Win versus Jose Garcia by Submission
BRI 4 – Bas Rutten Invitational 4: Win versus David Harris by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
BRI 4 – Bas Rutten Invitational 4: Win versus Josh Groves by Submission (Triangle Choke)
BRI 4 – Bas Rutten Invitational 4: Win versus Yves Edwards by Submission (Heel Hook)
Pancrase – Breakthrough 11: Loss to Genki Sudo by Submission (Armbar)
2000
ROF 1- Ring of Fire 1: Win versus Anthony Washington by Submission (Strikes)
Pancrase – Trans 4: Win versus Daiju Takase by KO (Knee)
Pancrase – 2000 Anniversary Show: Win versus Shonie Carter by Decision
Pancrase – 2000 Anniversary Show: Win versus Kiuma Kunioku by Decision
Pancrase – Trans 7: Draw versus Kiuma Kunioku
2001
Pancrase – Proof 2: Win versus Hikaru Sato by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Pancrase – Proof 3: Win versus Masaya Kojima by Submission (Arm Bar)
IFC WC 14 – Warriors Challenge 14: Loss to Gil Castrillo by Decision
Pancrase – Proof 6: Win versus Yuji Hoshino by Submission (Triangle Choke)
Pancrase – Proof 7: Loss to Kiuma Kunioku by Decision
2002
Pancrase – Spirit 3: Win versus Kazuo Misaki by TKO (Broken Arm)
Pancrase – 2002 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 2: Win versus Seiki Ryo by Submission (Arm Bar)
Pancrase – Spirit 7: Loss to Izuru Takeuchi by Decision
Pancrase – Spirit 9: Win versus Kiuma Kunioku by KO (Flying Knee)
2003
Pancrase- Hybrid 3: Win versus Izuru Takeuchi by KO
Pancrase – 2003 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 2: Loss to Keiichiro Yamamiya by Decision
IFC – Global Domination: Win versus Steve Gomm by Submission
Pancrase – Hybrid 8: Win versus Yuji Hisamatsu by Decision
Pancrase – Hybrid 10: Loss to Ricardo Almeida by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
2004
Pancrase – Brave 6: Draw with Eiji Ishikawa
Pancrase – Brave 10: Win versus Kazuo Misaki by Decision
2005
Pancrase – Spiral 4: Win versus Izuri Takeunchi by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Ultimate Fight Night: Win versus Ivan Salaverry by Decision
2006
UFC 58 - USA vs. Canada: Win versus Joe Doerksen by Decision
Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3 – The Final Chapter: Win versus Crafton Wallace by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
2007
Ultimate Fight Night 8: Win versus Dean Lister by Decision
UFC 73 – Stacked: Loss to Anderson Silva by TKO
2008
UFC 81 – Breaking Point: Win versus Jeremy Horn by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
UFC 85 – Bedlam: Loss to Thales Leites by Decision
UFC 88 - Breakthrough: Win versus Martin Kampmann by TKO
2009
UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson: Win versus Wilson Gouveia
Nate Marquardt versus Thales Leites
Marquardt is a solid striker as can be seen by his number of TKOs. He does also have good submission skills and can be dangerous on the ground. He will need those skills and some good ground defense as his opponent in UFC 102 will try to take him down there. He is undefeated Demian Maia.
Demian Maia
Demian Maia is a Jiu Jitsu specialist from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Maia trained Jiu Jitsu and Judo as a child and branched out into Karate and Kung Fu as a teen. He began his MMA career in grappling tournaments in Brazil and beyond. He won the 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship and the 2007 Super Challenge.
Maia began his MMA in 2003 in Finland and signed with the UFC in 2007.
Demian Maia
Maia's Fight Record
Demian Maia's MMA Record Middleweight
2005
The Cage – Volume 4: Win versus Lukas Chlewicki by Submission (Arm Bar)
2006
Super Challenge 1: Win versus Vitelmo Kubis Bandeira by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Super Challenge 1: Win versus Gustavo Machado by Decision
Super Challenge 1: Win versus Fabio Negao by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
2007
GFC – Evolution: Win versus Ryan Stout by TKO (Shoulder Injury)
UFC 77 – Hostile Territory: Win versus Ryan Jensen by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
2008
UFC 83 – Serra vs. St. Pierre 2: Win versus Ed Herman by Submission (Triangle Choke)
UFC 87 - Seek and Destroy: Win versus Jason McDonald by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
UFC 91 – Couture vs. Lesnar: Win versus Nate Quarry by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
2009
UFC 95 – Sanchez vs. Stevenson: Win versus Chael Sonnen by Submission (Triangle Choke)
Demian Maia versus Ed Herman
One thing you will notice from the fights Maia has been in, is only one went to decision. The rest ended by submission with one TKO does to his opponent's shoulder popping out during the fight. Maia is a submission specialist, that is his game. He will work his strikes to set up his take downs and then work the position game to get submissions. He is very slick on the ground and will be a tough test for Marquardt.
Final Thoughts
UFC 101 did not turn out how I expected. I expected a war in Silva versus Griffin and got a one sided affair with Griffin looking horrible. He couldn't even hit Silva. Penn beat Florian, choking him out late. A motivated and in shape Penn is truly scary thing and I don't see anyone in the Lightweight division to challenge him right now. An interesting fight may be if Uriah Faber moves up in weight out of the WEC to take him on.
Now we look forward to UFC 102, with Randy Couture leading the card. There are some solid fights on that card and we will continue to look at the matchups in the coming weeks.
That is all for this week everybody please come back next week where we will get the lowdown on some MMA fighters that will be fighting soon. Please take the time to bookmark 411mania.com. One quick step and all the news you need is but a click away.
