I guess there is a pretty big risk, that this fight will be like when Silva fought Leites.

Maia is the best of the rest, for sure. I am slightly concerned about the Leites Effect occuring again, but not so sure that Maia will think he is as weak standing up as Leites did for his own skills back then. Having said that, I'm sure Maia would have liked at least one more fight to continue proving his stand-up to himself before getting a shot...

And besides, Maia is probably (I'd guess) a marketable name in Abu Dhabi, what with his sucess there in grappling.

I'm still very interested in seeing this fight - just ddn't expect is so soon.

Sorry Jonny, gotta disagree.....



Vitor is a better fighter than both Nate and Hendo, IMHO of course



Hendo is on the decline. Once great, not so much any more. He made ridiculous demands that were not in keeping with his talent and draw. The UFC didnt feel the need to meet those demands.



Until the fight happened I might have thought the same. Everyone was saying Nate would walk through Sonnen. Nate was 4 to 1 odds on favourite. Sonnen proved a lot of people wrong. Was not only a really good fight, but proved Sonnens standing as a top contender.



Not sure why you think he shouldnt have a shot. A single freak defeat by a punch (not just the punch but combined with Maia's forward motion) that would have knocked out pretty much anybody in the MW division.