UFC 156: February 2, 2013 Las Vegas, Nevada UFC Welterweight Contender Jon Fitch (-175) Profile: One of the most dominant welterweights in the modern era of MMA, Jon Fitch (24-4-1, 1 NC) enjoyed a 20-1 record between 2003 and 2011 until he fought to a draw with B.J. Penn and was then knocked out in 12 seconds by fellow welterweight contender Johny Hendricks at UFC 141. The 34-year-old Indiana native has dealt with injuries over the last year, but he looked good in earning a unanimous decision victory against Erick Silva at UFC 153 after fighting for the first time in nearly a year. Always trying to showcase his superior wrestling skills and looking to smother his opponents with takedowns and top control, Fitch has rarely been out-muscled or out-grappled. UFC Welterweight Contender Demian Maia (+145) Profile: Demian Maia (17-4) is a Brazilian 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 35-year-old Brazilian took his third degree black belt and made the move to welterweight for the first time at UFC 148, giving him an edge in size, as he was having trouble with the bigger middleweights. Following an unimpressive unanimous decision loss to Chris Weidman at middleweight, he bounced back with a technical knockout win against Dong Hyun Kim in his welterweight debut when his opponent suffered an injury and could not continue. He followed that up with a submission win over Rick Story at UFC 153 to further prove himself as a legit title contender at 170 pounds. Opening UFC 156 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has made Fitch a small -175 favorite (bet $175 to win $100) against Maia, who opened as a +145 underdog (bet $100 to win $145) according to the MMA odds. This is a crossroads bout for both fighters, who each believe they should be in the mix for the UFC welterweight championship. While the winner likely will not be on deck for a title shot, he will be a Top 5 contender in the MMAOB MMA Fighter Rankings with a spot saved in line after the division sorts itself out even more at UFC 158. Fitch currently sits at No. 4 in the welterweight rankings while Maia is at No. 9, a solid feat considering he has just two fights at 170. Maia’s last two bouts have certainly opened eyes and proven that he made the right choice to move down a weight class, but now he can show that he deserves to be taken seriously as a contender for the belt against one of the toughest opponents of his career. For Fitch, beating Maia is also very important because he still needs to atone for getting knocked out by Hendricks and put himself back in position for another possible title eliminator bout sometime in the near future.
