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Well that was quick. I spend a night away from the computer for a change, come back and Demian Maia is fighting Anderson Silva for the middleweight title at UFC 112.

“It’s always tough when a top fighter like Vitor Belfort has to pull out of a big title fight, but we have found a high quality replacement,” said UFC President Dana White.

“Top contender Chael Sonnen was not available due to injuries sustained in his fight with Nate Marquardt, so top six middleweight Demian Maia will step in to fight for the title. Maia is an Abu Dhabi grappling champion, a five-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, and he is 12-1 in MMA and coming off a win over Dan Miller at UFC 109. Anderson Silva vs Demian Maia will be a matchup between MMA’s best striker and MMA’s best grappler.”

Outside of Chael Sonnen, I definitely think Demian Maia is best alternative to challenge Silva for the title. His striking is obviously nowhere near Anderson’s level, but if Maia can get him to the ground all bets are off. To be honest, I think his chances are much better than Vitor’s was.

The only issue is Maia was medically suspended until August for a cut on his eyelid. There’s no athletic commission in Abu Dhabi, but I don’t think the UFC would put someone in the cage overseas if a US athletic commission wouldn’t allow it. They’ve officially announced it, so I’m presuming they’re confident a doctor can clear him in time for the fight. At least I hope that’s the plan.

Image via Sherdog

Update: Demian Maia is excited…

“I knew about it last night. I still can’t believe it. My manager called me and they asked if I wanted to fight for the belt. I said ‘of course, you don’t even have to ask it’…I’ll have time to prepare an strategy. I’m coming from a heavy training and I’m in a fight rhythm. I’ll let my body rest this week and I’ll start the training next week…I still don’t know where I’ll train, but I’ll go train Boxing with (Luis Carlos) Dorea for sure. My physical preparation wlll be with (Rafael) Alejarra…If I say to you that I’m gonna exchange with him I’ll be lying. It’s the same thing if I say he’ll go to the ground with me. But I’ll go to this fight ready for everything. It’s a title fight and the title always was my dream. I imagined having this title shot a year ago, but I had two more fights and God, for one reason,  gave it to me now.”

Update 2: Ed Soares is actually pleased with the match-up for a change.

“I think it’s a very interesting matchup. I think it’s MMA’s best striker against MMA’s best grappler. I think it kind of brings back the old-school UFC of standup fighter vs. grappler…I think Demian is a professional. He’s a great person. He’s a very humble guy, and he’s a very talented guy. This is the classic, old-school MMA fight where it’s the world’s best grappler against the world’s best striker. It’s got that old-school feel…I think it’s a shame that Chael wasn’t able to take the fight because I know with all that crap he was talking about Anderson this and Anderson that it would be interesting for him to put all those things he had to say into the octagon. But then again, you’ve got Demian Maia here who is a guy who submitted Chael stepping up here and taking the fight on less-than-two-months’ notice…Demian obviously has improved his stand-up game quite a bit. I’m not going to say he’s an A-plus striker now, but you definitely can see that his striking game has improved. It might not be in his best interest to stand with Anderson, but I think he can stand with Anderson a lot better than he was able to six months ago. He seemed like he knew how to move around the octagon much better, and he looked like he felt a lot more comfortable using his hands. He wasn’t just desperate to take his opponent down. I think that’s going to be important. I think that’s going to present some challenges.”

UFC 109 took place earlier this evening at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the night’s main event, Randy Couture and Mark Coleman finally met in the Octagon.

In the co-main event, Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen battled it out for a shot at the UFC middleweight title.

Demian Maia returned to action against Dan Miller.

Frank Trigg fought for his job against Matt Serra.

Mike Swick stepped in to take Paulo Thiago.

Results, thoughts, bonuses and live gate (when available) after the jump.

Demian Maia is going to be a force in the middleweight division once he shores up his striking.

Dan Miller takes on Demian Maia on Feb. 6 at UFC 109.

Ever since Lorenzo Fertitta revealed Zuffa was working on signing Renzo Gracie, rumors have been swirling that he’s going to fight Matt Hughes. According to Heavy.com, the rumors are true, and the UFC is trying to put the fight together for UFC 109.

Dan Miller is expected to face jiu-jitsu wizard Demian Maia at UFC 109.

Demian Maia demonstrates where not to leave your hands when throwing a leg kick

I knew the first loss would come one day because I intend to fight for many years. As a matter of fact, though, it happened in a pretty unexpected manner because I was a little bit casual in the stand-up fight. I repeated two kicks. He got my timing down, and, the third time, he came with a straight punch and knocked me down. At the beginning of the fight, everyone is really strong, and I think the referee was right to stop the fight. I stood up well. I had no damage, and that’s most important. I pretty much believe that some things must happen in your life. For some reason, God prepares surprises for you, and that’s life. Maybe it was not the right time for me to challenge for the belt, but I’m very calm and will keep going…Today, it happened, and I cannot say it was an accident because he had the right strategy and punched me at the right moment. But a punch to the chin, like the one I took at the beginning of the fight, is probably the only defeat you cannot make comments about. I cannot complain about anything. Now, I just have to stand up, train hard and be ready for the next challenge.

—Demian Maia, via Sherdog, reflecting on his loss to Nate Marquardt at UFC 102

Saturday night was definitely not the last we’ll see of Demian Maia. His striking game is obviously his weakest, but once he shores that up, I don’t think there’s any reason to believe he won’t find himself in a title fight down the line.

Image via Sherdog

UFC 102 took place earlier this evening at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon.

In the night’s main event, living legends Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira faced off for the first time in a heavyweight battle.

In the co-main event, Thiago Silva and Keith Jardine looked to work their way back into contention in the light heavyweight division.

Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia met in a highly anticipated middleweight match-up with a possible title shot on the line.

Krzysztof Soszynski stepped in on short notice to take on Brandon Vera.

Chris Leben returned form his steroid suspension to take on up-and-comer Jake Rosholt.

Results, thoughts, bonuses and live gate (when available) after the jump.

UFC 102 will take place tomorrow, August 29, at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon and will air live on pay-per-view at 10PM ET/7PM PT. The weigh-ins will be held this afternoon at 7PM ET/4PM PT at the Rose Garden, and will stream live on UFC.com.

If you’re the gambling type, we recommend visiting BetUS. BetUS is currently offering a $75 bonus for depositing $200.

Odds below are from BetUS and are subject to change. Feel free to check out the live lines on our UFC Betting Odds page for the most up-to-date betting odds.

The Fights

Minus (-) = favorite | Plus (+) = underdog

With a line of -150 & +150, you would have to wager $150 to win $100 if you’re picking the favorite. You would win $150 for every $100 if you bet on the underdog assuming he won.

Good luck!

Preview and picks after the jump.

HT: RawVegas.tv