Demian Maia Vs Mark Munoz Odds;
Demian Maia - (-280) @ Bodog.Com
Mark Munoz – (+220) @ Bodog.Com
Despite possessing serious grappling credentials, Demian Maia didn’t enter the UFC with that much hype. Regardless, he would show off his elite level jiujitsu by submitting his first five UFC opponents, leading to a contender eliminator against Nate Marquardt where Maia was quickly knocked out. However after rebounding against Dan Miller and owing to an injury by Vitor Belfort, Maia was brought in as a last minute replacement against champion Anderson Silva for the middleweight title at UFC 112. Maia was unable to impose his game, and it ended up being one of the worst fights of 2010. Since the loss to Silva, Demian Maia has bounced back with two straight wins against Kendall Grove and Mario Miranda, where he has shown vastly improved striking and wrestling, although he has received some criticism for not finishing either opponent.
Mark Munoz entered the UFC as a light heavyweight with a lot of hype owing to his NCAA wrestling credentials, however he would be knocked out cold in his debut by Matt Hamill. This prompted a drop to middleweight, where many had high hopes for Munoz, however he disappointed in his debut at the new weight class, barely defeating Nick Catone. Since then however, Munoz has been a roll. He is 4-1 in his last five fights, with his only loss coming against current number one contender Yushin Okami by split decision. Otherwise, he has displayed vastly improved jiujitsu, great conditioning, great ground and pound, and an overall improved striking game.
If these two individuals were to fight five years ago, it would be pretty easy to call this a fight between a one dimensional wrestler, and a one dimensional jiujitsu fighter. However in the last few years, things have changed dramatically. Maia has made leaps and bounds in his takedowns and striking, and Munoz has made improvements of his own in the jiujitsu realm and especially in the striking realm.
Here’s the reality of this fight, if Maia can take Munoz down, the fight is probably over. However, the general consensus is that Munoz has too great of a wrestling advantage for this to happen, and he can force a standup fight. If however Munoz is losing the striking battle, he always has the option of taking Maia down. While some believe that taking Maia to the ground is playing with fire, it’s just as plausible to believe that Munoz can avoid getting caught in a submission owing to his training with the Nogueira brothers.
While both Maia and Munoz have improved their striking over the last few years, it would be hard to find someone who thinks Maia is going to get the better of the standup exchanges. While Munoz hasn’t exactly shown himself to be the most technical striker, most still give him the technical advantage over Maia, and undoubtedly the power advantage as well. For that reason, the prediction is that Mark Munoz keeps the fight standing, and knocks Demian Maia out cold with power punches. Maia only wins this fight on the ground, and Munoz is the one who will be deciding if it ever goes there. Further, even if for some reason Maia has the striking advantage, there’s a good chance Munoz can take Maia down and win this fight with ground and pound while avoiding submissions. For that reason, I really like a moderate play on Mark Munoz at -115 odds.
Conclusion: The prediction is that Mark Munoz knocks out Demian Maia, and at the curren odds a moderate sized bet is definitely recommended.
Demian Maia Vs Mark Munoz Odds;
Demian Maia - (-280) @ Bodog.Com
Mark Munoz – (+220) @ Bodog.Com
