UFC on Fox: Demian Maia vs. Carlos Condit Toe to Toe Preview – A Complete Breakdown

Condit and Maia try to take the contender control reigns this August 27, 2016 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

One sentence summary:

David: The natural born thriller attempts to avoid having those thrills taken away from the one guy who can choke the insulin out of you.

Phil: Elite throwback throwdown, as welterweight’s evergreen striker and grappler throw bombs and throws.

Stats

Record: Maia 23-6 Condit 30-9

Odds: Maia +110 Condit -130

History / Introduction to Both Fighters

David: I keep waiting for Maia to finally diminish, but it’s clearly not in his DNA. Maia is still, for all intents and purposes, an anachronism. A grappling centric pugilist who almost fights like he’s still trying to prove Royce Gracie’s techniques still work. Such a description reduces Maia to a stereotype. Which he isn’t. But that’s kind of what makes Maia unique. He skirts the core of traditional martial arts in a way no other elite fighter can claim.

Phil: There are two pure or near-pure grapplers who are left having success at the top levels, and they are both in the best divisions in the sport. One of them is Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the other is Demian Maia. While the Dagestani is visibly quick and powerful, watching Maia is almost puzzling. He just gets his hands on his opponents and… they get destroyed. This is a man who’s taken 12 significant strikes in his last three fights. 12!

David: No one that watches this sport has ever said a bad thing about Condit. Granted, lift a reddit stone and they may be there. Split a piece of troll, and you may find them. But Condit has earned all the hallelujahs from the MMA community for the time being. That’s why his post-fight interview against Lawler was so sobering. Condit is aware of his fight mortality. It’ll be interesting to see where his career goes from here.

Phil: This has to be the last run, right? And that’s no bad thing. There’s always been an ominous feeling about Condit’s career. He’s so insanely tough, and he gets hit so much, and so hard. As with Maia, you find yourself constantly looking for the cracks, because it was clear that when Condit started to deteriorate, it would be very fast and very ugly. I’d like to see Condit get the belt, but even if he just gets out of the sport while leaving behind that legacy of amazing fights, without the brutal downturn endemic to his style, then that’s a victory for one of the sport’s good guys.

What’s at stake?

David: For a fight between two contenders, not as much on the surface. Condit winning sets up a Woodley rematch that I don’t think is on Zuffa’s radar. The alternative is what? Maia vs. Woodley? That would either be Maia vs. Marquardt all over again. Or Shields vs. Woodley all over again. I’m not sure the UFC is eager to find out which will be which.

Phil: I think the stakes are more simply that due to age and attitude, this is the last hurrah at the top level for whoever wins the fight. I don’t think either Maia or Condit can regroup into another title-winning run off a loss, particularly because the way that the styles mesh up means that the loser may end up looking very bad.

Where do they want it?

David: Maia continues to refine his grappling execution. Unlike most fighters of his ilk, he hasn’t tried to use different techniques to distract from his specific gameplan. Instead he’s showing how useful tunnel vision can be in a fight. Maia remains a reservoir of fundamentals: tightening his efficiency with a rigid adherence …

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