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DEMIAN MAIA: "I BELIEVE MY JIU JITSU CAN MAKE ME A CHAMPION"

By Percy Crawford | February 10, 2009
DEMIAN MAIA:

"The last couple of opponents I've fought were more aggressive. They came in and wanted to knock me out or submit me or whatever. I think Chael is more of a strategic fighter. I think he will try to pick his spots and stay away. He has a different kind of game. It's not an easy game to beat, but I should be well prepared to try," stated UFC middleweight Demian Maia as he talked about his upcoming clash with Chael Sonnen at UFC 95. Check out what he had to say about Sonnen, the fight, his thoughts on the St. Pierre Vaseline controversy and much more.

PC: How is training going for your UFC 95 fight against Chael Sonnen?

DM: It's going pretty well. I went to Brazil and trained with all of my team there and my strength and conditioning coach, Rafael Alejarra, and now we're here in Las Vegas and I'm training with Wanderlei.

PC: I've been seeing you spending a lot of time with Wanderlei. How is he helping your game?

DM: He's helped me a lot. He's teaching me all of the things that he's learned over his career. He's great help because he's had a much longer career than I've had. I was just a Jiu Jitsu fighter, but he's been an MMA fighter all of his life.

PC: You fought Ed Herman in Canada and now you will be fighting Sonnen in London. I know you live in Brazil, but you spend a lot of your time in the States. Would you rather fight over here or you don't mind the travels?

DM: I'm used to fighting in other countries because I haven't fought in Brazil in a long time. It's normal for me. Maybe if you're from America and have to go fight in Canada or London, it's different, but for me, I'm always fighting out of Brazil so it's the same. I love to fight here, but it's good to fight other places so it works out both ways.

PC: Have you ever considered moving to the States like Wanderlei has?

DM: I love Brazil and my family and friends and it's hard for me, but I live here a little bit too because I come here all of the times. When I stay, it's for almost a month when I come here so I kind of live there and here. I live in Brazil, but I can't say that I just live in Brazil because I am here so much as well.

PC: It took you just over 2 minutes to finish Nate Quarry, who is a very tough opponent. Where you surprised the fight went so smoothly?

DM: No, because I was able to apply my game to him. Nate is more of a standup fighter. I put him in my game and that's hard for him. The same as if he would have put me in his game, then it would have been hard for me. I'm not surprised. I know when I get good position, it is hard for my opponents to escape. If I get my opponent in my game, I can finish the fight pretty fast and look well.

PC: Your Jiu Jitsu is on another level right now. Even with guys like Almeida, Silva and Palhares in the division, do you think your Jits is what separates you from the other middleweights?

DM: Yeah, I think so. My Jiu Jitsu is what I believe in, you know? I know a lot of opponents go to the cage and want to cut and break you, but it's nice to be a Jiu Jitsu fighter because I don't have to hurt my opponents. Some fights, you get hurt or you need to hurt your opponents, but most of the time, I go there and get my submission on fast. That's why I think my submission is good because, of course, I've been training and competing many years, but I believe my Jiu Jitsu can make me a champion.

PC: Next up is Chael Sonnen, like I mentioned. What do you think of Sonnen as a fighter?

DM: I think he's a tough opponent. The last couple of opponents I've fought were more aggressive. They came in and wanted to knock me out or submit me or whatever. I think Chael is more of a strategic fighter. I think he will try to pick his spots and stay away. He has a different kind of game. It's not an easy game to beat, but I should be well prepared to try.

PC: Your last 6 wins have come by submission. Can we expect anything different on the 21st?

DM: I'll always believe in my submissions and my Jiu Jitsu. I will always believe in that. I'm sure I will be fighting a lot of aggressive, maybe not aggressive, but violent people that are trying to knock out all of the guys so of course I'm working a lot of standup, but I don't go into fights thinking I'm going to knockout guys. It can happen, but I'm always looking for my game.

PC: What does it mean for you to be undefeated inside of the Octagon and in your career right now?

DM: Actually, that doesn't mean too much to me. It's very nice of course because this is my career. I go into this fight knowing that it's 50/50. He can win or I can win. He can beat me and then I won't look unbeatable anymore; anything can happen. I see a lot of people say, "Hey, this guy is unbeatable!" But I just go in there and try my hardest to win the fight.

PC: You being a Jiu Jitsu practitioner, I wanted to get your opinion on the Vaseline situation in the Penn/St. Pierre fight. How difficult would that make it for someone like you to pull off your game?

DM: Actually, a guy called me today and asked me about that. It's real bad to fight a guy with a lot of Vaseline. It's not fair of course and it's tough to fight a guy with a lot of Vaseline. It's tough because we fight with no shirts and shorts on so I think it's not fair. I don't know if it's true or not, but if it's true, it's not fair.

PC: I appreciate your time Demian. Good luck on the 21st. Is there anything you want to say in closing?

DM: I just want to say thank you very much to Eternal Unlimited; they do me pretty well and sponsor me and help out a lot. I want to thank Wanderlei and Rafael Alejarra and all of my teammates in Las Vegas and in Brazil for helping me. I want to also thank the American fans as well as the fans in Brazil.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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