D.P.

Height 6 ft 0 in
Weight 185 lb
Reach 72 in
Nationality Flag of Brazil Brazilian
Born November 6, 1977
Fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Team/Association Wand Fight Team
Primary fighting style Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Grappling, Judo

Wins 10
By knockout 1
By submission 8
Losses 0
Draws 0

Early MMA career

On December 3 of 2005, Maia made his mixed martial arts debut against Lukas Chlewicki at The Cage - Volume 4 in Helsinki, Finland. In just 4:22, Maia submitted Chlewicki by armbar to win his MMA debut. After nearly a year, he returned to compete at Super Challenge 1, earning three victories in one night to be crowned the 2007 Super Challenge Champion in the under-83kgs division. In 2007, he competed in GFC - Evolution against Ryan Stout. Early in the first round, Stout's shoulder popped out of socket after Maia reversing him into a mount, causing a stoppage due to injury.

UFC career

The UFC announced that it had signed Maia to a contract on August 7, 2007. He was originally matched against veteran Marvin Eastman, but Eastman pulled out due to eye surgery. Ryan Jensen, who trained with Team Quest for this fight, was named as his replacement. The preliminary bout took place on October 20 at UFC 77: Hostile Territory in Cincinnati, Ohio. Maia won by rear naked choke in the first round and won Submission of the Night honors, which paid him $40,000.

Maia next fought Ed Herman, another Team Quest fighter, at UFC 83: Serra vs St-Pierre 2 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on April 19, 2008. Maia defeated Herman by triangle choke at 2:27 of the second round. He again earned Submission of the Night honors for the victory, which paid him $75,000.

Maia's third fight was at UFC 87: Seek & Destroy where he took on middleweight Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald. Both fighters entered the cage having won back-to-back Submission of the Night victories in the UFC. Maia went on to defeat MacDonald by rear naked choke at 2:44 of the third round, earning $60,000 for Submission of the Night. With this award he became the first UFC fighter to earn three consecutive Submission of the Night honors. His four consecutive dominating submissions in the UFC have quickly brought his skills to the forefront as possibly being the best pure grappler in the UFC.

Maia defeated Nate Quarry at UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar by rear naked choke in the first round.

After the fight, Maia expressed interest in fighting Michael Bisping next.

Maia next faced off against Chael Sonnen in London, England at UFC 95 (February 21),. During the match Maia tossed Sonnen over his head using a lateral drop takedown, taking Sonnen to the ground, where Maia immediately achieved mount on Sonnen. Maia then transitioned to a triangle choke, forcing Sonnen to tap out at 2:37 of the first round. The bout earned Maia's fourth Submission of the Night award in five UFC fights.

UFC Middleweight Title Shot

Demian Maia next faces the winner of Anderson Silva Vs Thales Leites for UFC Middleweight Championship possibly at UFC 102 at Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.