Maia credits his mindset and love of boxing with the evolution in his game, an increasingly balanced attack he hopes to display against Chris Weidman on Saturday night at UFC on FOX 2. The 15-3 BJJ blackbelt discussed the situation where he explained he often removes ego from the equation and embraces challenges head on.

“For me, it’s not hard because I love what I do and I love to fight,” revealed Maia in a conversation with the UFC’s website. “I love boxing also, and not just jiu-jitsu, so whenever you do something that you love, it’s never hard work. Of course the training and everything is tough, but what I do I like very much and when you’re like that I think you develop very well.”

The Brazilian feels his attitude towards striking is one some of his peers could benefit from as well.

“I see some guys that are standup fighters and they’ve been doing jiu-jitsu for many years and they’re still not so good, and there are some jiu-jitsu guys that do standup for many years and they’re not so good, and the key is that they don’t like the other style,” said Maia. “Sometimes they don’t like to train other styles and sometimes they don’t like to go from being the best at what they do to learning something else and there’s an ego involved there. If you think like a white belt, you can keep getting better. And when I decide to do something, I know that I will do it hard and I will get it.”

See how his humility pays off this weekend when he meets Weidman in the opener of the 8:00 PM EST broadcast on FOX.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The UFC announced the match-up earlier today.

Maia is coming off a victory over Jorge Santiago at UFC 136 that improved his mark to 3-1 since a loss to current UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva back in 2010. Bisping’s last four victims have been Miller, Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Jorge Rivera.

UFC on FOX 2 will feature title-eliminator bouts between light heavyweights Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, along with middleweights Chael Sonnen and Mark Munoz. Bisping-Maia will be a featured fight on the FOX show, which will be held inside the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Demian Maia

This past weekend at UFC 136, the submission savvy Brazilian even shared a locker room area with Sonnen. Maia defeated Jorge Santiago, while Sonnen stopped Brian Stann. After his win over Stann, Sonnen called out Silva for a rematch, something even Maia is interested in as he works his way back to being a top contender at 185 pounds.

Some may wonder how a fighter like Maia can handle preparing for a fight in the same area as Sonnen, but, according to Maia himself, it didn’t have any affect on him.

“I met him many times before, and it wasn’t any different, he was respectful,” said Maia, in an interview with Tatame. “I have no troubles with him. Each one of us was warming up, with our minds on our bouts.”

Maia had Santiago in full control, taking a decision on all three scorecards to get back on track after a loss to Mark Munoz< in June at UFC 131. Maia is now 3-1 in his last four fights since falling to Silva by decision. He also holds a 2009 win over Sonnen where he submitted him midway through the bout’s opening round using a Triangle Choke.

Sonnen-Silva II has not been scheduled, but most feel like it is only a matter of time before the UFC books it for a card in 2012. Silva is currently rehabbing a shoulder injury, and Sonnen isn’t licensed to fight in Nevada, so those are two obstacles needing clearance before the bout can be signed.

“I guess Anderson would be harder to submit on the ground than Stann, because Anderson trains with experts, but Chael doesn’t depend on the submission – he can work on the ground and pound,” said Maia, of a potential rematch. “He’ll be training his takedown defense so he doesn’t get in trouble like it happened to him before.”

As for his own future, Maia says he will take some time off before stepping back inside the Octagon.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Demian Maia

Maia meets Jorge Santiago this Saturday night at UFC 136. Maia-Santiago will be one of at least two bouts shown live on Spike TV prior to the start of the pay-per-view.

Since starting his UFC career off with five straight wins, Maia has gone just 3-3 in his last six while failing to stop anyone early in any of the three victories. For a man that is a five-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, that just isn’t cutting it.

Maia has been working constantly on improving his striking while on his feet, but has had to find a balance in practice to remain just as strong in his BJJ.

“Ever since my loss to Nate Marquardt, I focused a lot on my stand-up,” said Maia, in an interview with the UFC’s website. “MMA is a complicated game because it’s hard to keep the balance (between martial arts). So at one point, I trained a lot more standing and less jiu-jitsu and I lost a little rhythm on the ground. I’ve been trying to get my focus on jiu-jitsu again.”

Those problems were on display when Munoz dominated Maia en route to claiming a decision victory on all three scorecards back in June. The loss snapped a two-fight win streak for Maia.

Against Santiago, Maia hopes to pick up the victory without inflicting too much pain on his opponent.

“To submit my opponent without him hurting me or me hurting him (would be a perfect fight),” said Maia, who has won four “Submission of the Night” during his UFC career. “Fighting for me is a chess game. I’m not angry with my opponent. I just want to go in there and win.”

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Pettis, whose “Showtime Kick” against Ben Henderson is widely considered to be one of MMA’s all-time highlights, is coming off a loss against Clay Guida after stringing together a quartet of victories including success against Shane Roller and Henderson.

Meanwhile, Stephens will be looking for his third straight win after dominating Danny Downes and Marcus Davis in his previous match-ups. He holds an overall record of 20-6 with fourteen TKOs to his credit.

The other Spike TV pairing will involve talented Brazilians Demian Maia and Jorge Santiago. Maia, one of the top BJJ artists in the middleweight division if not the sport, has shown improved striking in his last few fights and will need to continue the trend against the well-rounded Santiago who has twelve TKOs and nine submissions in twenty-three total wins.

UFC 136 is headlined by a pair of title-fights featuring 155 pound king Frank Edgar defending his belt against familiar foe Gray Maynard and explosive featherweight champ Jose Aldo taking on former lightweight contender Ken Florian.

PHOTO CREDIT – ZUFFA

Maia has gone 8-3 since signing with the UFC in 2007 and opened up his career in the company with five straight submissions including stoppages against Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry, and Chael Sonnen. However, the 33-year old grappler has split his last six fights and, though having shown clearly improved stand-up, hasn’t finished an opponent in more than two years. Maia was last seen in the ring a month ago at UFC 131 where he was outpointed by decorated wrestler Mark Munoz.

A more-rounded competitor, Santiago has avoided the judges’ scorecards in 21 of his 23 total wins with nine TKOs and twelve tap-outs on his record. However, it was the Imperial Athletics representative who was rendered unable to continue by Brian Stann in his return to the UFC after an extremely successful run after his initial run in the promotion. Prior to the defeat Santiago had won eleven of his previous twelve bouts with notable victories over Jeremy Horn, Trevor Prangley, and Kazuo Misaki.

Maia vs. Santiago marks the latest addition to the Houston lineup with officially announced match-ups including Dave Herman vs. Mike Russow and Matt Grice vs. Josh Grispi.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The 14-2 Maia has been out of action since a December decision over Kendall Grove at the Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale. Eight of the Brazilian’s overall wins have come as the result of a tap-out. The performance against Grove brought the submission savant’s record in the Octagon to 8-2 including victories over Dan Miller and Chael Sonnen.

In Munoz he will face a foe who has found success five of the last six times he’s fought with the one exception being a Split Decision to Yushin Okami. “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” most recently rendered C.B. Dollaway defenseless from strikes less than a minute into their March 3 bout at UFC Live 3.

UFC 131 is headlined by Brock Lesnar’s return to the ring in hopes of earning a rematch against current heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez later this year with hard-hitting fellow contender Junior dos Santos standing in his way. The card also features Ken Florian debuting at featherweight against 16-1 Diego Nunes, Shane Carwin against a yet-to-be-named opponent, and rising star Dustin Poirier taking on talented grappler Rani Yahya.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the payout was listed in a document Five Ounces of Pain requested and received from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Coming in a tie for second/third place on the event’s payroll was fan-favorite Stephan Bonnar who made $62,000 for outpointing Igor Pokrajac, as well as featherweight Leonard Garcia whose take-home total was assisted by a $30,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus for his unquestionable gutsiness en route to a controversial decision win over Nam Phan.

Read below for a complete rundown of TUF 12 Finale payouts:

Dave Branch – $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Rich Attonito – $8,000
Pablo Garza – $38,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus, $30,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus) def. Fredson Paixao – $8,000
Nick Pace – $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Will Campuzano – $6,000
Kyle Watson – $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Sako Chivitchian – $8,000
Ian Loveland – $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Tyler Toner – $3,000
Cody McKenzie – $46,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus, $30,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus) def. Aaron Wilkinson – $8,000
Leonard Garcia – $62,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus, $30,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus) def. Nam Phan – $46,000 (includes $30,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus, $8,000 win bonus*)
Rick Story – $26,000 (includes $13,000 win bonus) def. Johny Hendricks – $22,000
Demian Maia – $80,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus) def. Kendall Grove – $28,000
Stephan Bonnar – $62,000 (includes $31,000 win bonus) def. Igor Pokrajac – $10,000
Jonathan Brookins – $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Michael Johnson – $8,000

* – Phan’s actual contracted salary for the fight was $8,000 in a loss but Dana White awarded him the win bonus after feeling, along with most in attendance, Phan deserved the decision nod

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

In one half of the action, the man who stood toe-to-toe with Forrest Griffin at the inaugural TUF finale, Stephan Bonnar, will face Igor Pokrajac in hopes of building on the momentum of his TKO victory over Krzysztof Soszynski last July at UFC 116. The showing netted Bonnar a “Fight of the Night” distinction and broke a three-fight skid the likeable light heavyweight had been on since early 2009.

Pokrajac was also victorious in his last Octagon appearance. The 22-7 Croatian submitted James Irvin this past August at “UFC on Versus 2”. Nineteen of his twenty-two career wins have come by way of a finishing performance.

Also tagged for headlining work at the conclusion to the current season of the Ultimate Fighter, TUF 3 champ Kendall Grove will put his BJJ to the test against highly respected submission artist Demian Maia. The lanky middleweight is coming off a split-decision win over Goran Reljic at UFC 116, while Maia most recently outpointed Mario Miranda a little over a month ago at UFC 118 in Boston.

“Da Spyder” took to his Twitter account on Tuesday and let fans know will try to maneuver through Brazilian Demian Maia’s proverbial web on December 4th at the Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Finale.

The 27-year old Hawaiian also made it clear he understands the challenge at hand and explained his reasoning for doing so. “I know he’s one of the best. That’s why I took the fight. I’m here to do it big and I know what the f*ck I’m doing. Just enjoy the fight cause I will,” Grove posted on the popular networking site.

Grove has split his last four UFC appearances and is 6-4 overall in the organization since defeating Ed Herman in June 2006 to become an Ultimate Fighter Season 3 champ alongside Michael Bisping. He holds wins in the Octagon over Alan Belcher, Evan Tanner, Jake Rosholt, and most recently Goran Reljic via split decision at UFC 116 this past July.

The lanky middleweight’s opponent at the December event, Maia, is recognized as one of the top submission-grapplers currently competing in Mixed Martial Arts and is 13-2 thus far in his career. He is 2-2 in his last four UFC bouts with losses coming to 185-pound title-holder Anderson Silva and respected contender Nate Marquardt. However, Maia was the winner of a unanimous decision against Mario Miranda at UFC 118 a little less than two weeks ago, and has also claimed victory in the past against Jason MacDonald, Dan Miller, and Chael Sonnen.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Finale is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas and rumored to feature Stephan Bonnar in action, as well as of course the standard crowning of the season’s champion.

However, rather than dwell on the negative, Maia instead chose to use the loss as motivation and as a result even received an additional boost of incentive to win against Miranda upon learning the UFC’s middleweight champ would be cornering his training partner at UFC 118.

Maia recently spoke with Brazilian publication Tatame to talk about “The Spider”, his fight against Miranda, and why he continues to focus on submission-grappling while training for opponents regardless of his reputation in the art.

When asked about Silva being alongside Miranda at the event, Maia replied, “I was glad when I knew he’d be on his corner because I knew it’d motivate me even more. All due respect to Mário, but I was glad when I heard that Anderson would be on his corner because I knew (it would) motivate me even more.”

And, though he expressed disappointment at his inability tap his foe out in Boston, Maia was also quick to give Miranda credit.

“Of course I’d like (the win) to be due to a submission, but he’s a very slippery guy on the ground…defended himself well…kept himself calm during the whole fight, even when was on a bad position – he’s a good athlete. His professional record already shows he’d be a hard one for everyone on this division. He’s only got one loss in twelve fights, so, for sure, he’d be harsh on everyone.”

The Brazilian also explained why a good portion of his training time is still spent polishing his Jiu-Jitsu even though it’s the skill he’s most known for based on his success on the tournament scene and his effortless submissions of a number of respected opponents in the ring. On the subject of whether or not his attempts to improve at striking had weakened his Jiu-Jitsu, Maia explained, “I don’t think so, not at all. I keep training a lot of Jiu-Jitsu, I don’t leave it aside… I don’t train only Jiu-Jitsu nowadays, but Jiu-Jitsu represents, at least, 50% of my technical training, so it’s a lot… “

“It’s much more than many people train. I believe I have to chance some things,” he continued. “I got easily on the mount, on his back and arm…. I got to the positions I wanted to. I trained and I felt like I evolved a lot and got to the positions I wanted to. There was only a final detail missing because, besides that, I felt comfortable on getting to the positions…. I trained a lot of Jiu-Jitsu for this fight.”

Maia is 13-2 as a professional with notable victories over Chael Sonnen, Jason MacDonald, and Dan Miller in his career. Eight of his wins have come by way of submission though his last two were the result of unanimous decisions.

“Actually I was conscious,” explained Maia. “I wasn’t knocked out, it was a knock down.”

According to Maia, Marquardt may have pulled his “coup de grace punch”, not as an act of class and respect on his obviously finished opponent, but more in fear of what may have happened to him if he had.

“A lot of people say that what [Marquardt] had done was nice, because he didn’t hit me on the floor,” said Demian in the conversation that was translated by Tatame.com. “Maybe it was, but maybe he stopped because if he misses the punch I would tangle with him and the fight would still be going on.”

Demian Maia

Both fighters have been approached about the possibility of the bout, and at least one has verbally agreed to the potential match-up according to a recent report on MMAJunkie.com.

While no date or venue for the bout has been announced at this time, the two are expected to meet at UFC 109, which is tentatively expected for February 6 in Las Vegas.

Maia was recently handed his first loss as a professional courtesy of Nate Marquardt knockout at UFC 102 after putting together an unblemished record of 11-0, with five consecutive submission victories with the UFC over the likes of Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry and Chael Sonnen.

Miller is in a similar situation, having suffered his first UFC defeat recently to Chael Sonnen during UFC 98 after stringing together three consecutive wins in the Octagon over Rob Kimmons, Matt Horwich and Jake Rosholt.

Nate Marquardt put a punctuation mark on an extremely impressive comeback since his previous loss to Silva for the UFC 185 pound crown as he blasted Demian Maia with a devastating right hand that left the previously undefeated submission specialist in an unconscious heap just seconds into their highly anticipated showdown.

The fight started out normal enough, with Maia working his kicks, but it wasn’t until after the third leg attack from the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt that Marquardt dropped the anvil, and dropped Maia in the process.

Marquardt has looked nothing short of impressive ever since his previously failed bid at championship glory during UFC 73. Now, nearly thirty events later Marquardt has notched stoppage victories over the likes of Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia, and now Maia. His sole defeat was to Thales Leites; a controversial bout that could have gone Marquardt’s way had the deduction of several points not had a major impact in the bout’s outcome.

Other contender’s for the middleweight championship that deserve mentioning include Dan Henderson, who recently embarrassed Michael Bisping via devastating knockout, and of course, Yushin Okami.

MMAJunkie.com was the first to report the bout between the two middleweight dynamos on its website earlier today.

Speculation has been running rampant about who would face Anderson Silva next with the winner of Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson also under consideration after their bout at UFC 100 in July.

Marquardt is coming off an impressive third round TKO over Wilson Gouveia at UFC 95. Maia scored his tenth win in as many fights as well as his fifth submission victory in as many UFC fights on the same card against former WEC middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen. This fight has been talked about for some time now as well as both men seemed to have valid claims to be the #1 contender to Silva’s title.

Maia may have been hurt a bit by the poor performance put on by fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Thales Leites at UFC 97 against Silva. Leites showed absolutely no desire to fight Silva and many fans and pundits alike believed that Maia although a more talented fighter than Leites was too similar and that the UFC would want to avoid a repeat performance in a Silva title fight.

Marquardt has had a shot at Silva back at UFC 73 in July of 2007 but was stopped by TKO in the first round. He has seemed to improve all aspects of his game while under the tutelage of Greg Jackson and many believe he would offer Silva a much better fight the second time around. Marquardt is 3-1 since his fight with Silva losing a controversial split decision to Leites at UFC 85 in June of 2008, Marquardt was penalized two points during that bout. One point was deducted for kneeing in the head while he was still on the ground and the second point was deducted for Marquardt hitting Leites on the back of the head. Referee Herb Dean was heavily criticized for taking that point away.

UFC 102 is to be headlined by a battle of former UFC heavyweight champions as Randy Couture will face former PRIDE superstar Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera. Also set to appear on this card are local fighters Chael Sonnen who will take on Wilson Gouveia, a returning Chris Leben will battle Jake Rosholt and Junior Dos Santos will battle Justin McCully.

MMA is not a sport that offers accommodations for congeniality but if there was a Lady Byng Trophy in MMA, undefeated UFC Brazilian middleweight Demian Maia would be a leading contender.

Despite being one of the most skilled jiu-jitsu black belts in the world and being capable of ripping multiple limbs from the human body within seconds, Maia just happens to be one of the sport’s true gentlemen.

The classy Maia is set to return to the Octagon this Saturday at the O2 Arena in London, England at UFC 95. His calm temperament will once again be on display in a middleweight matchup against Chael Sonnen that is set to air as a part of Spike TV’s telecast in the U.S.

So how does Maia remain so even-keel in a sport that can at times be known for its ruthless aggression?

“I think my mentality comes from my belief in jit-jitsu,” Maia began to explain during an exclusive interview with FiveOuncesOfPain.com. “Jiu-jitsu is what I believe in because the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been founded on the mentality to get the victory without hurting yourself by controlling your opponent without hurting him too much.

“It’s about getting the submission instead of kicking and punching. For me, it’s the nicest way to win. It’s nice to win that way in a sport that is as aggressive as MMA. To be able to walk away with a victory without a scratch to me or my opponent, for me, it’s priceless.”

The 30-year old Sau Paulo native says that one of the reasons why he transitioned from competitive grappling to MMA was so that he could apply the principles of jiu-jitsu in an aggressive style of combat.

“I wanted to prove that you didn’t need to be a violent guy to win in an MMA competition,” he said. “You can use your technique and if you put on good technique then you can win very clean fights.”

But do not let Maia’s compassionate temperament fool you. While he may not be a savage warrior, he is a sportsman and a true competitor in every sense of the word. While he may not enjoy smashing an opponent’s face, he’ll do it if that’s what it takes to win.

“Of course I know I’m fighting MMA,” he began to answer when asked if his reservations for inflicting pain could come back to haunt him. “I know that I need to punch my opponent as hard as I can. I am fighting MMA and not in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If I can win without (punching my opponent), I prefer (that). But if I need to do (then I will). This is a sport and I am not here to be a nice guy, I am here to win.”

And win he has. Since joining the UFC, Maia is 4-0 with four submissions while competing for an organization he has dreamed of fighting for since watching Royce Gracie’s remarkable tournament victory at UFC 1 in 1993.

While Maia says he’s not in the UFC to be a nice guy, he’s exactly that. Which is why it was somewhat out of character when he called out Michael Bisping following his most recent victory over Nate Quarry at UFC 91 in November.

However, Maia was quick to point out to Five Ounces of Pain that he holds no animosity towards Bisping and was simply looking for a chance to serve opposite him as a head coach on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.

“The reason why I said I wanted to fight Bisping was because he was one of the guys picked to coach on The Ultimate Fighter,” Maia began to explain. “I heard that they needed another coach and that’s why I said his name. I actually didn’t want to fight him specifically. I just wanted to be a head coach on The Ultimate Fighter.”

Maia has accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time. However, there will be no shortage of challenges for him in the UFC’s middleweight division. Future clashes with Bisping and Henderson could be on the horizon and according to Maia, the 185 pound class in the UFC is about to get a major upgrade with occasional training partner Wanderlei Silva looking to drop down in weight.

“Yes, we’ve talked about (his move to middleweight),” Maia said of the legendary Brazilian star. “I think he’s just doing it for the experience and he may move back up after he does it. He wants to see how he looks (but) I don’t think he’s just going to fight at 185. He just wants to try it and see how it goes.”

While a fight against Wanderlei Silva unlikely due to their friendship, a fighter that goes by the same namesake could be next for Maia after Saturday.

“My next fight could be for a title shot if I win,” Maia responded when asked how soon he felt he might be in line to challenge for the UFC middleweight title that is currently held by Anderson Silva. “I hope so but it doesn’t depend on me, it depends on the UFC. But I want to fight for the title if I (defeat Sonnen).”

During a recent interview with the USA Today, Sonnen went on the record to state that Saturday’s fight between him and Maia will determine the UFC’s best middleweight. When asked how he felt about Sonnen’s proclamation, Maia expressed a more diplomatic tone.

“I think both of us could win against Anderson but I don’t think we are better than he is. I think he is the best fighter in the world. He’s a complete fighter; very good standup (and) good ground. He’s very good in all aspects… He’s just the best fighter in the world.”

As much respect as he has for Silva, Maia isn’t willing to concede victory.

“Even though he might be the best, I still think me or Chael can win against him because the type of game that we have. I think our grappling game can make a difference vs. Anderson.”

Maia is quickly earning a reputation as one of the top middleweight fighters in the world by accumulating a perfect 4-0 record since being signed by the UFC. His wins inside the Octagon over Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, and Nate Quarry have allowed the jiu-jitsu black belt to improve his overall MMA record to 9-0.

He will look to keep his perfect record intact against Sonnen, who will be beginning his second tour of duty in the UFC following stints with the WEC and BodogFIGHT.

Sonnen is 21-9-1 and trains out of Matt Lindland’s Team Quest in Portland, Oregon. After recording a unanimous decision victory over former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho at WEC 36 in November, Sonnen improved his record to 7-1 over the course of his last eight fights.

The part-time realtor is getting the opportunity to improve on his lifetime 1-2 record in the UFC after being transferred over from the WEC, which is owned by Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC. Zuffa decided to transfer several of its top middleweight and light heavyweight competitors over to the UFC after discontinuing the WEC’s 185 and 205 pound divisions.

UFC 95 will emanate from the O2 Arena in London, England and will be headlined by the lightweight debut of Diego Sanchez as he takes on former UFC lightweight title challenger Joe Stevenson. Both Sanchez and Stevenson are former winners of The Ultimate Fighter reality television series on Spike TV.

Other reported matchups for UFC 95 include Nathan Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia, Junior dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve, Shannon Gugerty vs. Jeff Lawson, and Justin Buchholz vs. Terry Etim.

“I’d accept a fight [vs. Maia], I’m a professional,” Leites is quoted as saying in an interview translated from Portuguese to English. “Demian is a great fighter and has been doing a great job in UFC. It’s possible that they put this fight, because the belt is with a Brazilian guy and we’re growing, so they can put this fight to take one of the Brazilians from the tops.”

Having won four straight fights, Leites is looking for a win to catapult him into the UFC title picture, which currently revolves around another Brazilian middleweight, Anderson Silva.

A win over Maia would certainly make some noise, as his fellow countryman is 9-0 overall and 4-0 since entering the UFC in October of 2007. Maia is also a world renowned grappler who is coming off his greatest level of exposure having submitted Nate Quarry during the undercard of UFC 91, which was headlined by Randy Couture losing the UFC heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar.

Leites’ informal proposal of a bout vs. Maia is one that UFC Vice President of Talent Relations Joe Silva might give serious consideration to, as Maia is in need of a credible opponent for his next fight. Speculation had centered around Maia possibly serving as a coach opposite Michael Bisping for the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” however, with the U.S. vs. UK concept cemented, there appears to be no room for a Brazilian coaching a team comprised exclusively of American fighters.

In addition to having some marketing appeal, Leites makes the case that it would be an entertaining fight in terms of match quality.

“I believe it’d be a good fight,” Leites is quoted as telling Tatame. “We almost have the same game and it’s kind of different from the American guys, who goes from striking and work on the ground n’ pound. We know each other’s game and it’d be a huge fight. Demian has been doing a good job, but I’d accept this fight.”

One guy who wants to throw his hat in the cage as a possible opponent for UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is Demian Maia. Maia quickly defeated Nate Quarry by submission at UFC 91. Maia believes he is prepared for the challenge.

“I feel ready for Anderson Silva,” said Maia. “I don’t want to say that I want to break his arm, but between us, I want to do that.”

While impressed with Maia’s performance, UFC President Dana White stopped short of naming him the number one contender.

“Joe Silva and I were talking about it,” said White, “I’d like to see Demian fight a few more times before Anderson Silva.”