BIOGRAPHY

As a child, Demian Maia, had his first contact with the fighting world. First with Judo, Karate and Kung-Fu, which he practiced for seven years. It was at the age of 19, already envisioning a career in MMA, that he started to practice the martial art that would become his greatest passion: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Demian dedicated himself intensely to the sport, often training three or four times per day. He achieved his black belt in only 4 years and 7 months of training, which is pretty much a record for the standards of those days in Brazil.

His dedication earned him two World titles, three World’s Cup titles, one Pan American Championship, two North American Championships, one Brazilian championship, seven São Paulo State Jiu-Jitsu Championships and one ADCC title.

 

Along with his accomplishments in the "Gentle Art" (as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is also known), Demian Maia was gradually "putting on" his MMA gloves. His first professional bout was in 2001, in Venezuela. Five more bouts followed, including the impressive Super Challenge Championship win, winning three fights in one night in late 2006. Finally in 2007 he was invited to compete in the most prestigious MMA event in the world, the UFC.

For 13 fights, from 2007 to 2012, Demian competed as a Middleweight in the UFC, even competing for the belt against fellow Brazilian Anderson Silva in 2010 (UFC 112) losing the fight in a judges decision after all five rounds of the bout. He also won four submission of the night awards, a record at that time.

In 2012 Demian decided to go down in weight class and compete as a welterweight. He quickly made a statement with three consecutive wins in the division. After a small set back with two decision losses in late 2013 and early 2014 he would go on to accomplish one of his greatest feats in the Octagon.

Seven consecutive wins in the UFC making him the all time leader for wins in the octagon amongst all Brazilian fighters. This win streak culminated with a shot at the welterweight title. With a short notice training camp of about four weeks he was given a chance to fight for the championship in July of 2017. After five rounds he lost by judges decision. Demian remains among the UFC welterweight divisions top five fighters. He is also the current record holder for most time spent in the UFC top ten per division, a record made even more impressive by the fact he has remained a top ten fighter in not one but two weight classes across most of his career shoulder to shoulder with some of the pound for pound greatest mixed martial artists of all time.

 

MMA

UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship

  • Win     24–6   Carlos Condit - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on FOX 21: Maia vs. Condit
  • Win     23–6   Matt Brown - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic
  • Win     22–6   Gunnar Nelson - Decision (unanimous) UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor
  • Win     21–6   Neil Magny - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia
  • Win     20–6   Ryan LaFlare - Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare
  • Win     19–6    Alexander Yakovlev - Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale
  • Loss    18–6    Rory MacDonald - Decision (unanimous) UFC 170
  • Loss    18–5    Jake Shields  - Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields
  • Win     18–4    Jon Fitch -  Decision (unanimous) UFC 156
  • Win     17–4    Rick Story - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 153
  • Win     16–4    Dong Hyun Kim - TKO (muscle spasm) UFC 148
  • Loss    15–4    Chris Weidman - Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis
  • Win     15–3    Jorge Santiago - Decision (unanimous) UFC 136
  • Loss    14–3    Mark Muñoz  - Decision (unanimous) UFC 131
  • Win     14–2    Kendall Grove - Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale
  • Win     13–2    Mario Miranda - Decision (unanimous) UFC 118
  • Loss    12–2    Anderson Silva - Decision (unanimous) UFC 112
  • Win     12–1     Dan Miller - Decision (unanimous) UFC 109
  • Loss    11–1      Nate Marquardt -  KO (punch) UFC 102
  • Win     11–0     Chael Sonnen - Submission (triangle choke) UFC 95
  • Win     10–0    Nate Quarry - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 91
  • Win     9–0     Jason MacDonald - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 87
  • Win     8–0     Ed Herman - Technical Submission (mounted triangle choke) UFC 83
  • Win     7–0     Ryan Jensen - Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 77

Others

    • Win     6–0     Ryan Stout  - TKO (shoulder injury) GFC: Evolution
    • Win     5–0     Fabio Nascimento - Submission (guillotine choke) Super Challenge 1
    • Win     4–0     Gustavo Machado - Decision (unanimous) Super Challenge 1
    • Win     3–0      Vitelmo Bandeira - Submission (rear-naked choke) Super Challenge 1
    • Win     2–0      Łukasz Chlewicki - Submission (armbar)  The Cage Vol. 4 - Redemption
    • Win     1–0       Raul Sosa - TKO (punches)  Tormenta en el Ring

     

    JIU JITSU & GRAPPLING

    UFC - ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships

    • ADCC 2007 77–87 kg: 1st place
    • ADCC 2005 77–87 kg: 2nd place

    CBJJ World Championships

    • 2001 Brown Belt Medio-Pesado: 2nd Place
    • 2000 Purple Belt Medio-Pesado: 1st Place
    • 1999 Blue Belt Medio: 2nd Place

    CBJJ Brazilian Championships

    • 2006 Black Belt Absolute: 2nd Place & Black Belt Medium Heavy: 3rd Place
    • 2002 Brown Belt Medio-Pesado: 3rd Place
    • 2001 Brown Belt Medio-Pesado: 1st Place & Brown Belt Medio-Pesado: 3rd Place

    CBJJ Brazilian Team Championships

    • 2003 Brown/Black Pesada: Master, 1st Place
    • 2002 Brown/Black Pesada: Alliance, 2nd Place
    • 2001 Brown/Black Pesada: Alliance, 1st Place
    • 2000 Purple Belt Pesada: Alliance, 1st Place

    CBJJO Copa Del Mundo

    • 2005 −85 kg Black Belt: 1st Place
    • 2003 Black Belt Meio Pesado: 3rd Place & Black Belt Absolute: 1st Place
    • 2002 Black Belt Meio Pesado: 1st Place & Black Belt Absolute: 2nd Place
       

    Blue belt

    • 7th Alliance Jiu-Jitsu Tournament  - Champion
    • 8th Alliance Jiu-Jitsu Tournament – Champion
    • Fla-Company Cup 1999 – Champion

    Purple Belt

    • Circuito Paulista Open 1st round 2000 – Vice Champion
    • 10th Alliance Jiu-Jitsu 2000 – Champion
    • 10th Alliance Jiu-Jitsu 2000 – Open Weight Champion
    • Circuito Paulista Open 1999 – Champion
    • Circuito Paulista Open 3rd round 1999 – Champion
    • Circuito Paulista Open 2nd round 1999 – Vice Champion

    Brown Belt

    • CBJJ Brazilian Championship 2000 – 3rd Place Open Class
    • Copa Nucleo 2001 – Open Weight Champion
    • Sao Paulo State Elimination Tournament 2001 – Open Weight Champion

    Black Belt

    • CBJJ Brazilian Championship 2002 – 3rd Place Medium Heavy Weight
    • CBJJ Brazilian Championship 2006 – 3rd Place Medium Heavy Weight
    • 1st Paulinia Cup Jiu-Jitsu Challenge – Open Weight Champion
    • 1st Bandsports Challenge – Champion
    • Copa Alliance Sao Paulo 2002 – Gi and No-Gi Champion +80kg