Demian Maia: I would not go to the judges scorecards against Anderson Silva
Props: Fighters Only
Quoteworthy:
"I see myself ready to fight for the belt. I would go at Anderson and it would give him the chance of knocking me out or give me the opportunity to finish the fight. That’s what I expect. I’m not saying I will win, but I will fight to end the fight before the judges decision. I want to do an aggressive fight and expose myself more. The UFC were waiting on the result of Anderson-Thales match to see what to do with me. They told me they were planning to give me the chance in August but because of their performance the UFC decided not put Silva in a main event very soon. Then they matched me and Nate Marquardt to find out the next challenger for the belt."
Top undefeated middleweight contender Demain Maia looks to assure skeptics that he would not be content with a decision win over the middleweight champion, which is currently none other than Anderson Silva. His remarks come on the heels of Thales Leites’ uninspiring losing performance against “The Spider” at UFC 97: “Redemption” last month. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt seemed more concerned with surviving the 185-pound contest rather than winning it, which did not go over well with the fans or UFC brass. In fact, it prompted UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to book Anderson against a light heavyweight, Forrest Griffin, at UFC 102 on August 8, rather than have him defend his title against another ground specialist such as Maia. He’ll more than likely earn a crack at the belt if he can topple Nate Marquardt at UFC 102 at the end of August, but he’ll have to get in line behind the winner of the fight between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping. And he can thank Mr. Leites for essentially delaying his opportunity at championship glory … whenever that may be.
