Demian defeats Masvidal and secures shot at welterweight title

Demian will fight for the welterweight belt (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook)

The Brazilian Demian Maia overcame adversities and, in a very balanced duel, managed to win Jorge masvidal at UFC 211, an event held this Saturday night (13), in Dallas, and guaranteed his chance at the UFC welterweight title. The victory came by split decision, with one of the judges giving the triumph to the Cuban-American, who was surprised by his excellent defense in the ground fight. The Brazilian himself revealed that his next fight will be against the champion Tyron woodley in the post-fight interview, after having spoken briefly with Dana White, still in the octagon.

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“Dana White just confirmed to me that I will have my shot at the belt. I went there to talk to him and say: “Dana, I am the Brazilian with the most consecutive victories in the UFC, with seven. It’s my time, please give me a title shot”, and he said “It’s yours”. So, I want to thank God and the fans, who know that I always go for the finish, but it's not always possible”, commented the Brazilian, who also praised Masvidal highly.

“I honestly thought it would be easier to take him down and finish him. I can say, with certainty, that Jorge masvidal He’s one of the best jiu-jitsu fighters I’ve ever faced in the UFC.”

THE FIGHT

Demian Maia He started the fight by feinting his striking, trying to find the distance to get the takedown. Masvidal tried to lure him into striking, but the Brazilian managed the clinch. After the Cuban-American resisted the fall, Maia even pulled guard, before managing to land on top. With a few movements, Demian got to Masvidal's back and tackled his opponent, looking for the rear naked choke. “Gamebred” knew how to defend the attacks and, at the end of the round, he took Maia off his back and connected hard blows on the Brazilian.

In the second round, tired from the effort made in the first five minutes, Demian Maia He began suffering from Masvidal's superior standing technique, especially the Cuban-American's low kicks. After two failed takedown attempts, Maia managed to take the fight to the ground, pulling guard and then sweeping his opponent, once again reaching “Gamebred”'s back and ending the round looking to improve his position.

Demian decided to change his strategy in the third round, trying to feint more with his striking, leaving Masvidal comfortable on his feet and then looking for the takedown. After absorbing some high kicks, the Brazilian managed to get to the ground, landing a rear-naked choke, but without both hooks in place, Masvidal escaped. Afterwards, Maia managed to dominate the Cuban-American's back and came close to finishing again, but time ran out.

Other fights:

At the opening of the main portion of UFC 211, the former WSOF middleweight and light heavyweight champion made his return to Ultimate against the Polish Krzysztof Jotko and won in a fight with a low technical level and little emotion. In the second duel, Frankie Edgar he completely dominated the promising Yair Rodríguez, using his top-notch wrestling to keep the Mexican on the ground and elbows to stop the fight in the second round.

“Yair will be a star, but not yet. He's going to be fine, he's an excellent athlete, with a promising future. I want to dedicate this fight to my coach, fellow fighter Nick Catone, who lost his son last week. I just want to go home and hug my kids. Thank you, Texas!” commented the former featherweight champion, who admitted he wanted a third fight against José Aldo.

“I will be in Brazil to support my friend Marlon moraes, so I'm going to watch Aldo vs. Holloway up close. I certainly want to face the winner. If it’s Holloway, great, but if it’s Aldo, I also want another chance to beat him,” he declared.

Results UFC 211

Welterweight Weight: Demian Maia won Jorge masvidal by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Feather weight: Frankie Edgar won Yair Rodriguez by technical knockout (medical stoppage)

Middleweight: David Branch won Krzysztof Jotko by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez x Dustin poirier – No result (illegal, accidental blow)

Featherweight: Jason Knight defeated Chas Skelly by TKO at 39 seconds of R3

Heavyweight: Chase sherman beat Rashad Coulter by knockout at 3:36 of R2

Lightweight: James Vick defeated Marco Polo Reyes by technical knockout at 2:39 of R1

Strawweight: Cortney Casey defeated Jessica Aguilar by unanimous decision (3x 30-27)

Feather weight: Enrique Barzola beat Gabriel Benítez by unanimous decision (3x 29-28)

Light Heavyweight: Gadzhimurad Antigulov beat Joachim Christensen via submission (rear naked choke) at 2m21s of R1

Fatal change? Makhachev ignores warning and could end tragically at welterweight!