Demian Maia Jiu-JitsuBrasa Clube de Jiu-JitsuMasters AcademyAlliance Jiu Jitsu Demian Augusto Maia Baptista (born 6 November 1977) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt.

[7] As of 2021, he is a fifth-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has won several major tournaments with Team Brasa.

Maia has previously credited a three-hour private lesson he once took with Rickson Gracie as one of the moments that had the biggest impact on his approach to jiu-jitsu and changed it entirely.

[8] On 21 September 2001, fought against Raul Sosa at Tormenta en el Ring in Caracas, Venezuela.

Early in the first round, Stout's shoulder popped out of its socket after Maia reversing him into a mount, causing a stoppage due to injury.

Maia next fought TUF 3 finalist Ed Herman, another Team Quest fighter, at UFC 83 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 19 April 2008.

Maia defeated Herman by technical submission due to a mounted triangle choke at 2:27 of the second round.

[12] Maia's third fight was at UFC 87 where he took on fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jason MacDonald.

Maia went on to defeat MacDonald by rear naked choke at 2:44 of the third round,[13] earning $60,000 for another Submission of the Night bonus.

[16] Maia defeated heavy handed striker Nate Quarry at UFC 91 by rear naked choke in the first round.

During an exchange of strikes, Maia was knocked out by a straight right hand from Marquardt 21 seconds into the fight, resulting in his first career loss.

In the third round, however, Silva's tempo seemed to change and looked to Maia to be the aggressor of the fight while he largely circled and taunted his opponent.

Maia faced Mark Muñoz on 11 June 2011, at UFC 131,[28] where he lost a close contest by unanimous decision.

[30] However, Bisping replaced an injured Mark Muñoz on the same card against Chael Sonnen, while Maia faced undefeated Chris Weidman at the event.

[32] After deciding to drop to the 170 pound division, Maia faced Dong Hyun Kim in a welterweight bout on 7 July 2012, at UFC 148.

[33] The bout was stopped in forty-seven seconds by referee Mario Yamasaki, after Maia took Kim down and finished him with strikes from the mounted position.

[34] UFC commentator Joe Rogan said that Kim had broken a rib, but it was later revealed that he suffered a major muscle spasm.

[37] He dominated the former title challenger for all three rounds, earning a lopsided unanimous decision victory with all three judges scoring the fight 30–27.

[41] As expected, the contest between the two decorated jiu-jitsu practitioners took place mostly on the ground with Maia losing a split decision.

He won the fight via submission with a rear-naked choke in the second round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.

[68] He won the fight via a standing rear-naked choke submission in the first round, becoming the first person to finish Good in his MMA career.

[69] Maia faced Anthony Rocco Martin on 29 June 2019 at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos.

[79] He won the 77–87 kg weight division at 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, defeating Yushin Okami, Rafael Lovato, and Tarsis Humphres before submitting Flavio Almeida with an armbar in the finals.

Maia competed in a superfight against fellow MMA veteran Alex Oliveira, submitting him with a triangle choke at 2:11.

[86] On 12 February 2023, Maia was scheduled to compete against Sangwook Kim in the main event superfight of the Spyder BJJ 'Road to Black' final.

[citation needed] Maia will lead a team for the 2024 Brazilian qualifying round of the AIGA Champions League in May, 2024.

Maia uses double and single leg takedowns as well as trips to advance to a dominant position and soften his opponent up with ground and pound, waiting for an opening for a submission.

[citation needed] In 2020, Maia opened a new academy in São Paulo, which also includes a jiu-jitsu museum.