UFC 148: Saturday, July 7, 2012 MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada UFC Welterweight Contender Dong Hyun Kim (-140) Profile: Dong Hyun Kim (15-1-1, 1 No-Contest) saw a dominant run in the Japanese promotion DEEP to start his career, going undefeated and entering the UFC in 2008 at 9-0-1. He went on to win his next two UFC bouts, then after losing a split decision to Karo Parisyan, he got a second chance with the fight being ruled a No-Contest due to Parisyan testing positive for banned substances. Since then, he has racked up four more wins with only one loss coming against UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit at UFC 132. The “Stun Gun” had previously defeated some solid opponents before meeting Condit, including Nate Diaz and Sean Pierson. UFC Welterweight Contender Demian Maia (+110) Profile: Demian Maia (15-4) is a Jiu-Jitsu superstar who has won just about every BJJ competition known to mankind, but in the last year-and-a-half he has shown an expanded tool set on the feet. The 34-year-old Brazilian is taking his third degree black belt and making the move to welterweight for the first time at UFC 148, and this may give Maia an edge in size, where he was having trouble with the bigger middleweights. This weight cut could also affect his cardio if he cuts the weight the wrong way. He is coming off an unimpressive unanimous decision loss to Chris Weidman, which was ugly for both fighters, and hopes this new weight class will help him bounce back to relevancy after dropping two of three. Opening UFC 148 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Kim a slim -140 favorite (bet $140 to win $100) while Maia opened as a +110 underdog (bet $100 to win $110) according to the MMA odds. Neither one of them currently appear in the Top 15 of the MMAOB MMA Fighter Rankings, but they are both quality fighters who could make a move with an impressive win or two. Maia dropping to welterweight should help him over the long haul, but he is moving from one stacked one division to another. Meanwhile, Kim is looking to put himself into position for a title shot and already got a shot at a top contender when he faced Condit. He will likely need to finish Maia at UFC 148 to get the UFC’s attention that he should be considered one of the better welterweights.
