Demian Maia

Demian Augusto Maia Baptista (born 6 November 1977) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt.

Maia competed in both the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has competed in two UFC title fights, losing against Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2010 and Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight Championship in 2017. In submission grappling, Maia has won gold medals at the ADCC World Championships, the World Jiu-Jitsu Cup, and Pan-American Championships.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Maia trained in judo as a child. He began at the age of four and trained until he was six. When he became a teenager, he also began studying kung fu and karate. By age nineteen, Maia was introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu by his cousin. After four years and seven months, Demian received his black belt. Demian Maia finished college and graduated with a degree in journalism. As of 2021, he is a fifth-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has won several major tournaments with Team Brasa. Maia has previously credited a three-hour private lesson he once took with Rickson Gracie as one of the moments that had the biggest impact on his approach to jiu-jitsu and changed it entirely.

On 21 September 2001, fought against Raul Sosa at Tormenta en el Ring in Caracas, Venezuela. Maia defeated Sosa by TKO in just 48 seconds to win his MMA debut. After a four-year layoff, he returned to submit Lukasz Chewlicki by armbar at The Cage Vol. 4 – Redemption. Maia next competed at Super Challenge 1, earning three victories in one night to be crowned the 2007 Super Challenge Champion in the under-83 kg division. In 2007, he competed in GFC – Evolution against Ryan Stout. Early in the first round, Stout's shoulder popped out of its socket after Maia reversing him into a mount, causing a stoppage due to injury.

It was reported on 7 August 2007, that Maia had signed a contract with the UFC. He was originally matched against veteran Marvin Eastman, but Eastman pulled out due to eye surgery. Ryan Jensen, who trained with Team Quest, was named as his replacement. The preliminary bout took place on 20 October at UFC 77 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Maia won by rear naked choke in the first round and was awarded the Submission of the Night award, which paid him an extra $40,000.

Maia next fought TUF 3 finalist Ed Herman, another Team Quest fighter, at UFC 83 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 19 April 2008. Maia defeated Herman by technical submission due to a mounted triangle choke at 2:27 of the second round. He again earned Submission of the Night honors for the victory, which paid him $75,000.

Maia's third fight was at UFC 87 where he took on fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jason MacDonald. Both fighters entered the cage having won back-to-back Submission of the Night honors in the UFC. Maia went on to defeat MacDonald by rear naked choke at 2:44 of the third round, earning $60,000 for another Submission of the Night bonus. With this award he became the first UFC fighter to earn three consecutive Submissions of the Night awards. His four consecutive dominating submissions in the UFC have quickly brought his skills to the forefront as possibly being the best pure grappler in the UFC.

Maia defeated heavy handed striker Nate Quarry at UFC 91 by rear naked choke in the first round. After the fight, Maia expressed interest in fighting Michael Bisping next.