Demian Maia Returns To The Cage Against Dan Miller At UFC 109…

October 19, 2009, at 11:52 am

Maia is coming off a rough loss when Nate Marquardt nearly beheaded him at UFC 103, and ended the Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu master’s win streak at 11. He’ll make his return at UFC 109 on Feb.6th against Dan Miller. Here’s the news. Guess where it’s from? You got it, MMA Weekly:

A fight between UFC middleweight standouts Demian Maia and Dan Miller is in the works for UFC 109 on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas. Sources close to the bout told MMAWeekly.com on Friday that the fight has been verbally agreed to.

Maia (11-1) was on the fast track to a title shot against fellow Brazilian Anderson Silva, racking up 11 straight victories to start his professional career. That was before he ran smack into the fist of Nate Marquardt at UFC 102 in August, suffering his first defeat. With a record of 5-1 in the Octagon, it won’t take long for Maia to get back on track if he can string some more wins together.

Miller maintains a similar resume of 11-2 overall with a 3-1 record in the Octagon. He is coming off of a loss to former WEC title contender Chael Sonnen at UFC 98, his first defeat under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner. Miller is a former International Fight League (IFL) middleweight champion.

Few details have emerged for UFC 109 other than the previously mentioned date and location. Other participants rumored for the card are Matt Serra and Matt Hughes, albeit in separate bouts.

Big day for the Miller family of New Jersey. We already mentioned how Jim Miller is taking on Tyson Griffin at UFC 108. Now, his brother Dan is getting a pretty big test in Maia. Maia’s BJJ is simply second to none, but lacks really any other part of the MMA game. He can’t stand, as we saw in the fight with Marquardt. His wrestling is sub-par, but that’s okay because his guard is so good that he turns that defensive position into an offensive position.

As for Miller, he should spend his entire camp working inside the guard of a great BJJ guy. Ricardo Almeida is based in Jersey, that’s an idea. (I really should manage.) If Miller can negate the remarkable submission game of Maia, he could grind out a win. If he can keep it on the feet, he can grind out a win.

To me this reeks of one of those fights where Maia will be a huge favorite, but Miller has a better chance than most will give him.