Even with good results in the Middleweight division, Demian Maia has never been so good as now. When she decided to change the category, Maia was already 34 years old. It seemed to be too late to make such a change in your life. The two straight losses to Shields and Rory could have shown that the Brazilian had no more chance of anything in the UFC. But his current run of six wins, one of them even against a former champion and who had just disputed the belt, made Maia resurface from the ashes.

Jorge Masvidal has always been an exciting fighter. In 2011 he lived his best moment, disputing the belt of Strikeforce with Melendez, but ended up being defeated. Already in the UFC, could not maintain a sequence of victories, that gave him the opportunity to dispute a belt again. Coming from three straight victories and an excellent exhibit against Cowboy Cerrone, Masvidal emerges as the darling of the crowd. With an aggressive style and always going forward, the American hopes to return to the belt after a possible victory at UFC 211.

Maia beat good strikers like Carlos Condit and Matt Brown. Good grapplers like Gunnar Nelson and Ryan Laflare. The Brazilian is prepared for everything. He has grabbed his opponents like a tick. It takes opponents to the ground anyway. Single Leg, Double Leg. Somehow the Brazilian will be able to take you to the ground. If he can not, he ends up winning the fight in the judges' decision to have dominated the opponent most of the time.

Meanwhile, Masvidal is a fighter who likes to fight. He likes to give a show to the crowd. It always goes forward. Even when he is in danger, he keeps fighting. You will not see Masvidal running around the octagon avoiding your opponent or raising up and waiting for the opponent to leave the ground. In the fight against Chiesa (who has 10 wins per submission), even when he was on the ground, Masvidal remained on the ground until he was able to reverse the position and finish the opponent at his own game.

That's where I believe in the Brazilian's victory. Masvidal will end up accepting Demian Maia's gameplan and will be finalized. I do not see Masvidal running away from the grid, or running from the clinch attempts, or trying to get up when he's on the ground. I see the American pounding even when the situation is bad for him. Only now he's facing Demian Maia. The Brazilian has not lost any chance to finish his opponents.

In my opinion, it is very likely that Maia ends up winning by submission. Even if it's only three rounds, at some point Masvidal will make a mistake. If the Brazilian fails in their takedown attempts, he would still be able to score better in the first two rounds for controlling the fight. Masvidal's chance would be in the third round, as Maia may end up getting tired of the frustrated takedown attempts. Even the fight trying to decide the judges, I believe one of the fighters can finish before. Even at the last second.

My safe bet is on the simple victory of Demian Maia (2.10), since I believe in a 29-28 judges' decision or a submission win. For those who want more emotion, I would bet on the Brazilian's victory by decision (5.36), as the market believes the fight will only have two rounds.