UFC 91 Breakdown: The Main Card

Nate Quarry vs. Demian Maia

Nate “Rock” Quarry Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 6’0/185 lbs.
Age: 36
Hometown: Arcata, Calif.
Fighting out of: Gresham, Ore.
Record: 10-2

The stakes: The Anderson Silva sweepstakes are as wide open as ever and Nate Quarry can do a lot to stack the odds in his favor by taking out the current prospect du jour, Demian Maia. Showing no ill effects from back surgery so complex I’d need a medical degree to even begin to explain it, Quarry, like so many others, is just a big win away from a shot at Silva’s title. Taking out Maia would almost certainly put him at the front of the line.

The breakdown: While no one in their right mind would get into a jiu-jitsu contest with Maia, we have seen the grappling prodigy show some sloppiness inside the cage both with his striking and conditioning. Quarry has to capitalize on those flaws by resisting Maia’s subpar takedowns and using his unorthodox striking style to keep Maia on the defensive. If Quarry can keep Maia going backward, this fight will, at bare minimum, be more enjoyable than the Kalib Starnes track meet Quarry had to put up with in his last fight.

Demian Maia Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 6’0/185 lbs.
Age: 31
Hometown: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Fighting out of: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Record: 8-0

The stakes: Already one of the world’s most respected jiu-jitsu competitors, Maia has become one of a select few to translate sport grappling success into MMA stardom and he’s done it in surprisingly short order. So fast has been the feat that Maia’s undefeated mark is starting to look worthy of a title shot thanks to the Nicole Richie-thin middleweight division. Keeping that shiny record nice and buffed up at Quarry’s expense would probably be all Maia needs to take his shot at the other Brazilian middleweight superstar.

The breakdown: With Maia the story is simple: If you’re in the mood to add a loss to your record, just roll around with him for a minute and make sure you have a chiropractor on call. What keeps Maia from being a hands-down favorite is his barely-there striking and equally suspect cardio. Wrestling is of little concern to Maia, who is more than content to pull guard, but if he can’t keep up with Quarry, he’ll be in a deep hole … nope, I won’t make a rock quarry joke here. As Hall & Oates would say, I can’t go for that. No can do.


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The bottom line: As tempting an underdog as Quarry is, Maia’s willingness to pull guard to get the fight to the mat saves him a ton of energy as opposed to wildly scrambling for takedowns, and Quarry’s top control is nowhere near as strong as it needs to be to corral Maia. Maia might have to survive some hairy moments on the feet, but he will eventually leave Quarry looking like a piñata post-party. Minus the delicious candy, which sucks for all the sugar addicts in the crowd.