So, I was thinking about Maia's disappointing wrestle-box match today. Being a usually positive person, I decided to think about who my favorite fighters are instead and why I like them so much. I have to say, the first guys that I thought of were Machida, Aoki, and A. Silva. There are others I like, of course, but those are probably my top 3 favorites.
What do those 3 fighters have in common? They all have backgrounds in some traditional MA. But, more importantly, they all have a very distinctive fighting style THAT THEY STICK TO. Aoki is a grappler and a submission specialist. And with very few exceptions, thats how he always fights. You rarely, if ever, see Aoki trying to "improve his striking" and "looking to make this a stand-up war." The guy's a phenomenal grappler, and that's what he attacks his opponents with. This makes his fights exciting and fun to watch. Same with Machida and his karate based style. I would hate it if he started trying to fight like a wrestler or took up boxing.
I have a feeling I am not alone in this. Why do fighters like Maia suddenly try and completely change the game that got them to where they are and made them fun to watch? Becuase they lose a fight here and there? That makes no sense to me.
Chasing bonuses my friend....chasing bonuses.
Not a ton of money outside of bonuses in mma. 
Submission of the night bonus is equal to KO of the night, no? Plus, I'd say these guys have more finishes than the wrestle-box types.
He got embarrassed against anderson and didnt want it to happen again, so instead of working his wrestling and takedowns like he should, he decided to work on striking and devolved from a brilliant bjj fighter into a poor kickboxer
Devlin - He got embarrassed against anderson and didnt want it to happen again, so instead of working his wrestling and takedowns like he should, he decided to work on striking and devolved from a brilliant bjj fighter into a poor kickboxer
This seems to be true of a lot of guys. Hard to fight at their level, so I don't mean to bash. But I don't get it.