UPDATE: Report: Marquardt/Palhares moved from UFC 118 to UFC Fight Night 22 main event; Maia off card, to fight Miranda at UFC 118
by Matt Bishop on Aug 3, 2010 3:37 PM EDT
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With Alan Belcher having to drop out of his UFC Fight Night 22 main event fight with Demian Maia due to an eye injury, the UFC has moved the UFC 118 fight between Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares to the main event slot at Fight Night, MMAJunkie.com reports.
UFC Fight Night 22 is scheduled for Sept. 15 in Austin, Texas.
A middleweight bout between Nate Marquardt (29-9-2 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and Rousimar Palhares (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) initially scheduled for UFC 118 has been moved to UFC Fight Night 22 and now serves as the night's main event.
Sources close to the event today confirmed the change with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
As for what the promotion has in store for Maia, things are a little cloudy.
It's not clear if Maia will remain on the UFC Fight Night 22 card. It's also not known how UFC officials will fill UFC 118's vacant pay-per-view main-card slot now that Marquardt vs. Palhares has been removed from the card.
UPDATE by Matt Bishop [8/3/10 12:55 a.m. ET]: MMAFighting.com is reporting that Maia is out of UFC Fight Night 22 entirely after the promotion could not secure a replacement opponent and Maia wants a fight.
The organization was unable to find a solid replacement for Maia due to all the best candidates either being booked in another fight or on the injured list.
Maia is still hoping to fight sooner rather than later, as sources tell MMA Fighting that he is even open to fighting on the Aug. 28 UFC 118 card in Boston.
UPDATE #2 by Matt Bishop [8/3/10 3:37 p.m. ET]: Demian Maia now has a fight, MMAJunkie.com reports.
Sources close to the Brazilian grappling ace informed MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Maia will face middleweight prospect Mario Miranda (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC 118 in Boston.
Both fighters have verbally agreed to the main-card contest, and bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.
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Call me crazy, but I think Palhares is going to beat Marquardt. Nate’s always had problems with powerful grapplers. Unless Palhares just walks into a huge shot, or gases epicly, I think he puts Marquardt on his back and outhustles him for three rounds.
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yeah, Paul Harris is pysched for this...
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum." ~ Roddy Piper
by RearNakedPoke on Aug 3, 2010 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Palhares has really good subs but he’s not an elite wrestler which is the only people who can give Nate fits. Marquardt is going to be really for his shot and end up knocking his head into the fourth row which is a long time coming imo.
"they mad at me, I keep going hard reppin/
cause what's your Rampage to Rashad Evans/"
-Joe Budden (Something To Ride To)
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I don't know if I'd say he'll knock his head off
But I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a reprise of the Palhares v. Hendo fight.
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Gil Castillo and Ricardo Almedia both ran game on Marquardt on the ground, and neither of them are even sniffing at elite wrestler status. Marquardt’s ground game hasn’t changed a bit since then – if anything, he’s less active off his back now and tries to stall out and force standups. At least he was constantly active off his back against Castillo back in the day. Now he’s just latching onto guillotines and hoping for the best. When that doesn’t work out, he just lays there.
If Palhares gets takedowns on him, I’m not expecting a whole hell of a lot from Nate on the ground. Heck, I wouldn’t be shocked if Palhares tapped him. Sonnen got all sorts of positions on Nate, he just didn’t have the chops to do anything with them. If he gives up his back to Palhares, it’s a wrap.
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Trying to compare the Nate from back then to the Nate now is beyond silly, the guy is a completelly different guy and unless Palhares learns Sonnen level wrestling he’s getting knocked out.
"they mad at me, I keep going hard reppin/
cause what's your Rampage to Rashad Evans/"
-Joe Budden (Something To Ride To)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/76866807deabe3c1/
by Nightwhistler on Aug 3, 2010 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I’ve watched Marquardt fight through the years. When he’s put on his back, he’s not very good. And it doesn’t take Sonnen level wrestling to take him down. He’s got a long history of not being able to do much against guy’s who can put him on his back. Palhares can do that.
Can Marquardt win? Of course. He’s a fantastic fighter. But it’s a tough stylistic matchup for him, and I wouldn’t blink if Palhares totally ran game on him.
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Kendall Grove is not answering his phone right now
If anyone can find him, it would be appreciated
by Forrest Lynn on Aug 3, 2010 1:44 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
As an Alan Belcher fan, I was bummed
But this is still a great fight. Also, I’m glad Maia gets a little bit easier bounce-back fight before he’s in the mix with contenders again
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Miranda is actually a tougher fight for Maia, as he’s a pretty good wrestler and doesn’t have half bad BJJ. Belcher’s take down defense is horrible and his BJJ is what it is at this point. Maia wouldn’t have had a whole lot of trouble getting a trip takedown on Belcher, advancing position and getting a submission. He’s going to have to REALLY work for it against Miranda.
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No, Miranda isn't.
You’re wrong. Both Miranda and Belcher are outclassed by Maia’s grappling, but Belcher has a distinct advantage in striking whereas Miranda has none. As proven by Chael Sonnen, you cant grapple with Maia. As proven by Marquardt, you can knock him out.
Belcher’s jiu-jistu is far beyond what it was in the Kendall Grove fight. Even though he’d be at a clear disadvantage in a grappling match, it’s not some cakewalk for Maia.
I throw raps that attack like the Japs on Pearl Harbor/MC's be out like bank robbers/Fleeing the scene, to be a sole survivor/DJ the getaway driver/Tried to dip but he dive, I socialize on vocal vibes/On tracks stabbed up with razor sharp knives
by Anthony Pace on Aug 3, 2010 11:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Belcher still got taken down at will by Kang and Akiyama, and in his last fight he got taken down and put in a keylock by Patrick Cote,of all people. I somehow doubt that Demian Maia would have much trouble with Belcher. Belcher could land a huge kill shot on him in the opening seconds like Marquardt did, but other than that, Maia probably drags him to the mat and has his way with him.
As for Maia vs Miranda – Maia couldn’t do jack with Dan Miller. He had to really, really struggle to get him down and when he did, Dan Miller popped right back up. And Dan Miller isn’t the world’s best wrestler. The throw Maia nailed on Sonnen isn’t indicitive of his wrestling – he caught Sonnen completly off guard. Sonnen had no clue Maia could do that. Maia’s never taken a guy down like that before or since. He usually struggles to get takedowns, which is why he’s a big fan of pulling guard and then sweeping from there. Miranda is a huge middleweight who is, if anything, a very solid wrestler and a pretty good BJJ guy. He can also bang a bit. I would favor Maia in the matchup, but it’s not going to be a cakewalk ,and it’s going to be a LOT harder than the Belcher fight for him. Miranda is a MUCH better grappler than Alan Belcher is. That’s just a fact. Demian Maia is going to want to take down Miranda, and that’s no small task. It’s going to be a tough fight for him.
For God’s sake, let’s not forget that Demian Maia went tit for tat on the ground with Jason MacDonald.
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Miranda is going to get tooled if it hits the mat
Its as simple as that. Its stupid to think he has a better route to victory than Belcher.
I throw raps that attack like the Japs on Pearl Harbor/MC's be out like bank robbers/Fleeing the scene, to be a sole survivor/DJ the getaway driver/Tried to dip but he dive, I socialize on vocal vibes/On tracks stabbed up with razor sharp knives
by Anthony Pace on Aug 4, 2010 6:00 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I didn’t say that. I said it’s a tougher fight for Maia, which it is. Miranda is a MUCH better grappler than Belcher is. If Maia can get his hands on Belcher, he’s got an excellent chance of dragging him to the mat somehow and getting a submission in short order. Against Miranda, he’s going to have to really struggle just to get the fight to the floor in the first place. From there, Miranda is a lot better versed on the ground than Belcher is.
I think Maia beats both Belcher and Miranda, I just think Miranda is the tougher stylistic matchup. For crying out loud, Maia struggled with Dan Miller’s wrestling. Miranda is no slouch. He’s a big physical dude and a very good wrestler. Maia has his work cut out for him. It’s not going to be a cake walk.
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