Usman beats Demian at UFC Chile (Photo: Reproduction Twitter ufc_brasil)
Kamaru Usman managed to be the kryptonite de Demian Maia by anti-playing the Brazilian in the main fight of UFC Chile, an event held this Saturday (19), in Santiago. After a good first round from the black belt from São Paulo, the “Nigerian Nightmare” kept the fight standing, thwarted Maia's attacks on the ground and worked with boxing moves to win the dispute by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46).
With the triumph, Usman, 7th in the welterweight rankings (up to 77 kg.), achieved his 12th consecutive victory and is a candidate to enter the top-5 of the category. On the other hand, Demian, 5th in the rankings, suffers his third consecutive defeat and is expected to fall in the rankings.
See too
“I have a lot of respect for Demian Maia, he is a legend of the game. No excuses, but I think I broke my right hand in the second round and my left in the third. But even so, I faced a legend in the sport and dominated from start to finish. His head is tough, he defends punches with his frontal lobe. I felt them both breaking,” said Usman.
The fight
The beginning of the clash was much studied. Usman lands a blow to the right leg with a low kick. Demian threw his first blow with a straight left. Kamaru kicked again, but the Brazilian tried to get his legs and the opponent's fall. The Nigerian managed to defend. Even standing up, Demian managed to place a hook and tried to take the back. Usman used fencing to defend himself from the Brazilian's attacks. The referee separated the fighters, despite Maia's dominant position.
In the second round, the Brazilian landed a straight left right at the beginning. The Nigerian was faster, when the Brazilian tried to look for takedowns, he quickly managed to defend himself with a “sprawl”, throwing his hips back. The fight remained standing and striking and Usman enjoyed the fight.
History repeated itself in the third round. The Nigerian tried to fight more on the feet, throwing blows and avoiding getting into the Brazilian's game. The Nigerian bet on jabs and direct shots. Maia tried several takedowns, but was surprised by Usman's quick defenses. With the blows, Usman knocked Demian off balance with a low kick, and the Brazilian lay down, inviting his opponent to enter his guard.
In the fourth round, Kamaru found his striking distance and surprised Demian Maia with a straight right. The punch led to the Brazilian being knocked down. The Nigerian went for the technical knockout, but Demian recovered and reversed the game. Kamaru sought to fight on the feet again. The Brazilian made new takedown attempts, but all were unsuccessful.
The last round was a repeat of the previous four halves. Demian looked for the takedown to apply his jiu-jitsu, but Usman defended and put pressure on the Brazilian. Maia managed to land a few blows, but received more punches than he did. The Brazilian had an opportunity on the ground: he tried to land an inverted triangle with his hands, but Kamaru managed to get out of position and return to his feet. Maia even risked a round kick to the waistline, but there was no time for anything else.
TWO BROKEN HANDS!? #UFCChile pic.twitter.com/A8dgo5BOKp
- UFC (@ufc) 20 May 2018
UFC Chile results:
main card
Welterweight Weight: Kamaru Usman derrotou Demian Maia in the unanimous decision of the judges (49-46, 50-45, 49-46)
Straw weight: Tatiana Suarez placeholder image finished Alexa grasso with a choke at 2m44sec from R1
Light Heavyweight: Dominick reyes knocked out Jared Cannonier 2min55sec from R1
Bantamweight: Guido cannetti beat Diego Rivas by unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Fly weight: Andrea Lee derrotou Veronica macedo by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight Weight: Vincent Luque knocked out Chad Laprise at 4:16 of R1
Preliminary Card
Welterweight Weight: Michel Tractor beat Zak Cummings via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Fly weight: Alexandre pantoja derrotou Brandon Moreno by unanimous decision of the judges (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)
Straw weight: Poliana Botelho knocked out Syuri Kondo 33 seconds into R1
Featherweight: Gabriel Benítez knocked out Humberto Bandenay 39 seconds into R1
Feather weight: Enrique Barzola won Brandon davis by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Bantamweight: Frankie Saenz defeated Henry Briones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Lightweight: Claudio Puelles placeholder image finished Felipe silva with a heel hook 2min23sec into R3
Comments