I'm assuming he was injured, or the body kick killed him or something?
In the Fitch fight he went full-force for 3 straight rounds, just completely outworking the prince of the grinders. In the Shields fight he went hard for 5 straight rounds against the king of the grinders and many thought he won. Then, against Rory, he looked like a walking corpse after just 5 minutes (that he had totally dominated).
Looked off at the weigh ins. But he doesnt follow the brazilian excuse mold.. Usually just focuses on what he did wrong and comes back hard.
I'm not surprised if this was the last time he fights in MMA
NorthFromHere -What would give you that impression?
I'm not surprised if this was the last time he fights in MMA
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NorthFromHere -You shut your mouth when you're talking about him !
I'm not surprised if this was the last time he fights in MMA
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Bad weight cut?
RyannVonDoom - Looked off at the weigh ins. But he doesnt follow the brazilian excuse mold.. Usually just focuses on what he did wrong and comes back hard.Buuuut I've become so used to Brazilian excuses! Inquiring minds want to know!
j/j - I'm a huge Maia fan
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he did seem to lose steam after the first and considering he we have seen him grapple extremely hard and non stop with stronger better grapplers in Fitch and Sheilds. I really think that body kick hurt him badly. Which is all credit to Rory as he took it out of Maia and helped weaken his obviously superior ground game. First round Maia looked fucking dangerous.
He went full gonzaga.
Sucks i wanted him to choke rory the fuck out.
Brockback Mountain - He went full gonzaga.Me too, man. That first round had me giddy like a twelve year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert.
Sucks i wanted him to choke rory the fuck out.
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He posted a very classy explanation of the fight on Facebook. Didn't make excuses, he was just not the fresher fighter in the final two rounds. Sorry no link.
Why would it be anything other than he got hit very hard, a lot?
He looked gassed at the beginning of the 2nd, I'm sure getting blasted a few times didn't help, rory is also amazing at distance and kept Maia diving in for takedowns instead of being able to really set them up which also added to his fatigue.
Elias Cepeda -He gassed before that, and he generally doesn't (regardless of if he gets hit hard a lot. See the Munoz fight). I'm glad he's being classy in defeat. The best way to show you had an off night is to go out in your next fights and prove it.
Why would it be anything other than he got hit very hard, a lot?
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VitorpeepeetasteStrongTRT -NorthFromHere -What would give you that impression?
I'm not surprised if this was the last time he fights in MMA
He will turn 37 this year and has a very long career in MMA (first fight in 2001) and in BJJ behind him. He has made his money in MMA, has businesses to take care of and a family.
Fought for the MW title. Made a great run for the WW title. With those losses in the row, he drops way back to the WW trences.
Demian isn't one of those guys who fights just for fun imo.
fraz1001 - The TD's he was shooting for in the 2nd round were god awful attempts!!!This. Zero set ups. Just diving in over and over.
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Heres his statement on FB:
"I want to thank everybody for the support. I did my best at UFC 170 and I have to give props for Rory MacDonald for his performance and the win. I'm happy that our fight was awarded Fight of the Night, but I obviously would rather have walked away with the win. I had a clear strategy for the fight, with plans A and B, and he also had a clear efficient strategy with alternatives. I felt that my stragegy worked well in some moments, but in other moments he maneged to impose his strategy again in a more efficiente way, and I may have got a little too anxious, getting a little lost and moving away from my fight plan, which might have ended up demanding a lot of myself and generating too much wear. Props to him, he is really a great fighter and deserved the win. I tried until the very end, the fight goes on, and now is time to go back home, stay with my family, hug my kids and my wife and very soon all will re-start again."
^^ classy, I for sure thought he got injured after the first round by the kick or something else.
The fight went exactly as I expected it to except I didn't think Rory would get mounted in the first round. I thought the fight would look more like the 2nd and 3rd for the entire fight. Props to Maia for going for it in the 1st and even bigger props to Rory for surviving. That first round had to be the scariest moment in Rory's fighting career.
Good point. Maia dominated round 1 but didn't seem to over expend much energy. Just maintained top position. It's not like Maia gassed his arms out going for a choke, he never got a chance to sink one in.
Comparing his recent fights leading up to this, he definitely looked to gas out.