Sherdog’s Top 10: Winningest UFC Fighters

4. Demian Maia (18-6)

Maia is MMA’s answer to Bryan Mills: He has a very particular set of skills.

The 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist has excelled in two weight classes since he first appeared in the UFC nine years ago. A technical and calculating Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Maia won six of his first seven bouts inside the Octagon and earned a shot at then-middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 112 on April 10, 2010. Though his title bid was denied by “The Spider,” he continued to rack up victories at the highest level.

In his current incarnation, Maia has risen to the top of the welterweight division. He has gone 9-2 at 170 pounds, decision losses to Rory MacDonald and Jake Shields his only setbacks. Maia made his case to be considered the No. 1 contender for the welterweight championship at UFC on Fox 21, where he became the first man in more than a decade to submit onetime World Extreme Cagefighting champion Carlos Condit. The rear-naked choke was his weapon of choice, and he needed less than two minutes to get the job done.

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