Demian Maia Wants Jon Fitch Or Nick Diaz

Fresh off his UFC 153 victory over Rick Story, Demian Maia has Jon Fitch and Nick Diaz in his cross-hairs.  In his fight with Rick Story, Demian dominated the grappling aspect and finished the bout with a brutal neck crank.

It was a sterling performance from Maia and one that warrants a top contender fight, and apparently Maia feels the same way.  In a recent interview with Tatame, Maia talked about his ideal future opponent.

“I think Nick Diaz and Jon Fitch that opponents would surely have much name this division and I would climb fast. The others, I think they are marked with struggles, but these two guys are certainly very tough and they would have proved much I climb in the division. I think the two have much jiu-jitsu. Both with Nick as with Fitch. Both are good with that, just that I feel more focused on the Fitch’s wrestling than with his jiu-jitsu, and Nick is a guy more with boxing than jiu-jitsu.”

The time frame for either fight works out quite nicely.  Diaz is still currently serving his suspension for failing a post-fight drug test, but will surely like to get right back in the mix with an elite welterweight.  Enter Demian Maia.  Maia has some of the best jiu jitsu in all of MMA, and it would be a grappler’s fantasy match up to put these two in the ring together.

Fitch would also be a great match up to book because he also has competent grappling skills.  Fitch is a black belt under Dave Camarillo in guerrilla jiu jitsu, and he seems virtually impossible to submit, which can be seen with his Erick Silva fight.  It would be interesting to see if he could prevent a submission from Maia, and it would also test Maia’s stand up skills.