D. Maia (photo) defeated Yakovlev in São Paulo. Photo: Bruno Ferreira/SUPER FIGHTS
After two consecutive defeats to Jake Shields e Rory McDonald, Demian Maia rediscovered the path to victory in the TUF Brasil 3 Finale, held in São Paulo (SP), when he overcame Alexander Yakovlev by unanimous decision of the judges. Even though his victory was clear, with the three judges scoring the three rounds in his favor, the São Paulo native said that the night was not 100% because he was unable to finish his opponent.
However, Demian recognized the merits of the Russian, UFC debutant, in avoiding openings on the ground, and was satisfied with the result. “The way I would like it is always to finish. It wasn't 100%, but in life not everything is perfect. While we dedicate ourselves, there is someone on the other side of the octagon who does the same. I have to value the victory and I can’t be frustrated by not finishing,” he commented, in a press conference after the event. “You can’t try to finish anyway. I rode him in all three rounds, but he kept hugging me. I was surprised that he was able to do that throughout the entire fight. I did my best, but he also had value in defending himself for three rounds.”
If the usual finish didn't happen, the fight could see something unprecedented. In the first round, Demian applied a knockdown on Yakovlev, something that had never happened in his long MMA career. “It was a consequence of my work that has been going on for a long time. This comes to complement my ground game – as people are afraid of being taken down, it's important to sharpen your hand to gain respect. I try to be a complete fighter, I love boxing and Muay Thai, but I know I wasn't born to be a 'taker' with the John hendricks”, he assessed.
Maia stated that it is still too early to think about his next fight, as he believes that the scenario will become clearer in the coming months. “There will be some fights in the category and we have to see what will happen. Dong Hyun Kim x Hector Lombard, Rory McDonald x Tyron woodley, and to Robbie Lawler [against Matt Brown]… These are fights that will define a lot of things. The victory brought me back to breathe, but I'm not worried about it [next fight] now. It depends on the UFC. It's the category that has the most athletes, so it's the most competitive and difficult. What does Joe Silva [matchmakers from the UFC] and my manager Eduardo Alonso talk, I’ll go and fight”, he commented.
Comments