Demian Maia

In 2005, Demian got married to Renata. She works for a Brazilian magazine. In 2011, the couple welcomed their first child, a girl named Pietra Vieira Maia. In March 2013, the couple’s second child, a boy, was born. The baby is named Lorenzo. Demian announced the new member’s arrival via Twitter.

Demian is quite a philosophical person in real life. He likes to take up new challenges and loves training his body for the fights. He also trains his brain to overcome occasional frights and nervousness. He describes himself as a competitive person and maintains a calm approach during each of his fights.

Demian Maia was born Demian Augusto Maia Baptista on November 6, 1977 in São Paulo, Brazil. The name of his father is Guto Maia but very little is known about his mother.

He started developing interest in martial arts at quite a young age, and started practicing Judo when he was 4 years old. By the time he reached 6, he had developed a liking for the more traditional forms of martial arts like Karate and Kung Fu.

At 19 years of age, Demian was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu popularly known as BJJ. It was around the same time when he graduated from college with a degree in Journalism.

Shortly after being introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he entered Fabio Araujo’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy to start his training. Fabio Araujo was a brown belt holder trained under Carlson Gracie, a renowned BJJ fighter.

Demian made his debut into the world of fighting in 2001 opposite Raul Sosa in Venezuela and defeated Sosa in 48 seconds with a technical knockout.

After taking a break that lasted around four years, Demian returned to demonstrate his submissive prowess and defeated Lukasz Chewlicki by armbar. This was at The Cage Vol. 4 – Redemption fights.

In 2007, he signed a contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship and fought with Ryan Jensen of Team Quest and defeated him with a rear naked choke. In his later fights with Ed Herman and Jason MacDonald, Demian defeated both of them into submission.

In 2009, Demian defeated Nate Quarry, a heavy-handed striker and Chael Sonnen, UFC middleweight title contender. Later that year, during August Demian was knocked out by a straight right hand delivered by his opponent Nate Marquardt. This was his first career loss.

He earned his first black belt after just four years of training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He received this honor at the hands of 8-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion – Fábio Gurgel.

In 2000, he ranked first at the Brown Belt Medio-Pesado at the BJJ World Championships.

In 2001, he stood second at the Brown Belt Medio-Pesado at the BJJ World Championships. In the BJJ Brazilian Championships he came in the first place at the Brown Belt Medio-Pesado.

He is also a one-time holder of the Fight of the Night award under UFC. He has won the Performance of the Night award two times and Submission of the Night four times; all under UFC.

In 2001, during his debut fight, he knocked out Raul Sosa in 48 seconds at the Torments en el Ring held in Caracas, Venezuela. He came into spotlight after this fight and won a number of awards for the best entry.