UFC 214: Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones 2 - Preview and Predictions

#2 Tyron Woodley (c) vs Demian Maia: UFC Welterweight Championship Match

Tyron Woodley with the UFC belt, and Demian Maia

Tyron Woodley is one of the most complete MMA fighters today, and his fights against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson proved the same, showing us T-Wood’s capability of holding his own on the feet against a lethal former Kickboxing champion in Wonderboy.

Nevertheless, Woodley’s UFC 214 opponent is vastly different than Wonderboy. Demian Maia is one of, if not the, best grappler to have ever competed in the sport of MMA.

The man is a wizard in the grappling department and has developed his own style of MMA fighting that sees him use his grappling skills to wear down and submit his foes and hide his mediocre striking game.

In my opinion, Maia does have a legitimate shot at dethroning Woodley, especially if the fight goes to the mat.

However, apart from a guard pull from the clinch or a takedown initiated by Woodley, Maia won’t have it easy trying to get the reigning 170-pound king to the ground, as T-Wood has excellent defensive and offensive wrestling skills.

I see this fight going at a slow pace, with Maia trying but failing to take Woodley down, and the latter eventually lighting the Brazilian up on the feet to score an early KO/TKO finish.

Prediction: Tyron Woodley def. Demian Maia via KO