UFC 109 Preview – Damian Maia vs. Dan Miller

Despite early reports following UFC 102, Damian Maia is still alive after having his brain dislodged from his body courtesy of Nate Marquardt.

In order to get the 11-1 SU Brazilian back on track, Dana White has practically thrown him a bone, matching Maia up against Dan Miller. In Las Vegas, Miller will need to do something he’s done only once in his entire career – win by knockout.

What we knew about Maia before his first loss was that there is perhaps nobody better on the mat in the middleweight division.

A highly touted Jiu-Jitsu master, and one of the scariest submission specialists in his division, Maia has very few equals when it comes to any form of grappling in the octagon. What we learned about Maia in his first loss, however, is that he has a very suspect chin although that’s not totally fair because the F.B.I. is considering forcing Nate Marquardt to register his fists as deadly weapons.

Dan Miller has always relied on his balancing act as a kick boxer and a wrestler, never allowing his opponent to form a reasonable strategy before choosing which discipline he’s going to prefer in this fight. What we all assume about Miller is that he’ll keep this to a strict standup bout, but that’s suggesting that Maia won’t be able to score takedown after takedown against his opponent.

Demian Maia (-400) vs Dan Miller >> Join to Bet Now

While Miller, 11-2-1 SU in his career, is a talented fighter he truly is a jack of all trades and a master of none. The last time he knocked out an opponent was in 2006 when he fought a nobody while picking up spare change during Reality Fighting in Atlantic City. The majority of his fights are either won on the ground by submission, or they go to a decision.

Even if Miller has spent every waking hour trying to become a master grappler, there’s no way he’s even approached the all-universe level of Maia.

In his first fight back since being embarrassed by Marquardt, Maia won’t be dumb enough to test his luck by staying on his feet. He’ll shoot as many times as he has to in order to get Miller on the ground. Slippery in defense, a rodeo champion in top control and as lethal in submissions as a mega-volt tazer, Maia will do everything humanly possible to remind the world why he’s known as one of the greatest grapplers in the sport.

A nice UFC prop bet on this fight would be calling for the “submission of the night” honors because that’s exactly what Maia’s going to do. He won’t go for the quick kill because less than two-minutes of face time in the last six months isn’t going to remind people of who he is.

Instead he’ll stalk Miller the entire night. Even if Dan Miller is able to land a few blows to the head, he lacks the world crushing power that basically made Maia as pliable as a ventriloquist’s puppet in his last fight. Maia wins this one with style and a few quick and painful taps from Miller.

Furious Free Pick: Maia -400 over Miller +300

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