Demian Maia Defeats Dan Miller

Dan Miller prepared well for this fight. He didn’t give Demian any juicy takedown opportunities. Whenever things went to the ground, Dan was focused on standing the hell up. He often used the cage to his advantage, which was smart. That last thing you want is to be grappling with Maia in the middle of the octagon.

Sadly for Miller, Demian Maia showed up with much improve striking skills. Maia did a great job of moving around the cage. Unlike his mentor Wanderlei Silva, Maia threw crisp punches. He didn’t expend unnecessary energy searching for a homerun shot.

It was a shame we didn’t get to see one of his infamous submissions. However he did enough on the ground to put fear into Miller. You could tell Dan was always worried about going to the ground. That’s why he never put together any (or at least, very few) successful combinations.

It’s great to see Maia improving all aspects of his game. It’s great he has the cardio to make it into the championship rounds. However he’s going to have a hard time taking down the bigger middleweights. Needless to say, he’s going to have to add even more tools to his MMA arsenal if he plans on defeating Anderson Silva.

Next Fight: Phil Davis vs. Brian Stann

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