Demian Maia

Tap Selections: UFC 102

Here are our predictions (after the jump, winners in bold) for UFC 102.

The event will be headlined by a heavyweight bout between former UFC heavyweight champion Randy “The Natural” Couture and former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Also on the card will be a light heavyweight attraction featuring Keith Jardine and Thiago Silva.

Feel free to leave your predictions as well in our comments section.

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Sonnen, Maia Ready for Middleweight Clash

In the above video, former WEC title contender Chael Sonnen and skilled grappler Demian Maia discuss their upcoming middlweight bout at UFC 95, which takes place this Saturday in London, England.

Maia: “I’m Fighting Chael Sonnen at UFC 95”

UFC middleweight contender and grappling wizard Demian Maia will attempt to stay undefeated in welcoming WEC standout Chael Sonnen back to the UFC when the two clash at UFC 95, which will take place on February 21 in London, England.

Maia revealed that he had signed to fight Sonnen at the event in a recent statement on his official website.

The Brazilian remains undefeated thus far in his professional career and has been victorious in all of four of his UFC contests. Maia made his UFC debut at UFC 77 in October of last year where he made quick work of veteran Ryan Jensen, submitting him in the first round.

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UFC 91 Quick Results

Main card:

Brock Lesnar def. Randy Couture - TKO (punch)
Kenny Florian def. Joe Stevenson - Submission (rear naked choke)
Dustin Hazelett def. Tamdan McCrory - Submission (armbar)
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Josh Hendricks - TKO (punch)
Demian Maia def. Nate Quarry - Submission (rear naked choke)

Preliminary bouts:

Aaron Riley def. Jorge Gurgel - Unanimous Decision
Jeremy Stephens def. Rafael dos Anjos - KO (punch)
Mark Bocek def. Alvin Robinson - Submission (rear naked choke)
Matt Brown def. Ryan Thomas - Submission (armbar)

Mixed emotions

In the second round Lesnar landed a punch that sent Couture to the mat.  Lesnar then jumped on Couture, landing a big hammer-fist, and then continued to punch and punch until the fight was stopped.  Four fights into his MMA career, and Brock Lesnar is the UFC heavyweight champion.  It was good to finally see a heavyweight championship fight, but with Lesnar becoming champ so fast it’ll be interesting to see how the former WWE star is received as UFC champ by MMA fans, and general sports fans alike.

Tap Selections: UFC 91

Here are our predictions (after the jump, winners in bold) for tonight’s UFC 91 event.

The main card will be broadcast on pay-per-view and Yahoo! Sports starting at 10 PM ET.

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MacDonald Falls on UFC 87 Undercard

Despite his best efforts to hang with the touted grappling skills of Demian Maia, Canadian veteran Jason MacDonald eventually succumbed to the Brazilian, tapping out to a rear naked choke late in the third round of what was arguably UFC 87’s most technical undercard bout Saturday night.

With dozens of grappling championships under his belt, Maia was expected to make quick work of MacDonald if he opted to hit the ground with him. However MacDonald surprised many, continually escaping various attempts throughout the first two rounds, even putting Maia in his own predicaments at certain points.

It only took Maia a minute or so to lock in an extremely deep triangle but MacDonald was able to keep his composure and fight his way out of the hold. Multiple rear naked choke attempts followed but MacDonald persevered, even catching Maia in a guillotine before the end of the first round.

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UFC 87: Seek and Destroy Live Results

We will be going live at 8:00 PM ET tonight with live results of UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, which will take place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The show’s televised main card will air on pay-per-view and Yahoo! Sports starting at 10 PM ET.

The event will be headlined by Georges St. Pierre defending his UFC welterweight title against gritty top contender Jon Fitch, who will be challenging Royce Gracie’s age-old record for consecutive wins. Additional featured fights include Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring and Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta.

Be sure to leave comments throughout the night. Detailed live results are after the jump. 

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Previewing UFC 87: Seek and Destroy

Just two weekends after Anderson Silva destroyed James Irvin on cable television, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns with it’s latest offering: UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, which is headlined by Georges St. Pierre defending his UFC welterweight title against gritty top contender Jon Fitch, who will be challenging Royce Gracie’s age-old record for consecutive wins.

The UFC didn’t come alone on it’s first trip to the state of Minnesota - hometown products Roger Huerta and Brock Lesnar have come to participate in the biggest fights of their respective careers. Huerta will challenge Kenny Florian for the assumed right to take on UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn while Lesnar will look to bounce back from an embarrassing first defeat against experienced veteran Heath Herring.

Here’s a little breakdown of what you can expect and what you should watch for during tonight’s event. The televised main card will air on pay-per-view and Yahoo! Sports starting at 10 PM ET. MMA on Tap will have complete play-by-play coverage of the event starting at 8 PM ET, so be sure to check back here throughout the night.

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UFC 87: Seek and Destroy Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in results for tomorrow night’s UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, which will take place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are below. The show’s televised main card will air on pay-per-view starting at 10 PM ET. All fighters successfully made weight.

Main Card:

Georges St. Pierre (170 lbs) vs. Jon Fitch (170 lbs lbs)
Heath Herring (250 lbs) vs. Brock Lesnar (265 lbs)
Kenny Florian (155 lbs) vs. Roger Huerta (155 lbs)
Jason MacDonald (185 lbs) vs. Demian Maia (185 lbs)
Rob Emerson (155 lbs) vs. Manny Gamburyan (155 lbs)

Preliminary Fights:
Cheick Kongo (235 lbs) vs. Dan Evensen (244 lbs)
Luke Cummo (167 lbs) vs. Tamdan McCrory (170 lbs)
Andre Gusmao (205 lbs) vs. Jon Jones (205 lbs)
Chris Wilson (170 lbs) vs. Steve Bruno (170 lbs)
Ben Saunders (170 lbs) vs. Ryan Thomas (170 lbs)

Report: MacDonald-Maia Set for UFC 87

Skilled grapplers Jason MacDonald and Demian Maia will reportedly collide in a middleweight bout that will take place at UFC 87: Seek and Destroy on August 9th at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The news comes from a report by MMA Mania.

MacDonald, who has yet to confirm the bout in his blog with MMA on Tap partner-site Rogers Sportsnet, has split his last four fights. “The Athlete bounced back from an October loss to Yushin Okami to defeated heated rival Joe Doerksen for a second time at UFC 83 in February.

Maia remains undefeated thus far in his professional mixed martial arts career and has won his first two bouts inside the confines of the UFC. Maia most recently submitted Team Quest product Ed Herman at UFC 83 in February as well.

The event will also feature a heavyweight showdown between former professional wrestler turned mixed martial artist Brock Lesnar and former two-time UFC tournament champion Mark Coleman, who will be fighting in the UFC for the first time since 1999. Additionally, lightweight contenders Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta will fight for a potential title shot.

A main event for the show has yet to be announced.