MMA Preview – Demian Maia vs Lyman Good at UFC Fight Night 144
AT A GLANCE
When is UFC Fight Night 144? Saturday 2nd February, 2019 - 23:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 144? Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste, Fortaleza, Brazil
What channel is UFC Fight Night 144 on? BT Sport 3
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 144? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
Are tickets still available for UFC Fight Night 144? http://uk.ufc.com/event-ticket...
THE STATISTICS
THE LOWDOWN
Lyman Good heads to Fortaleza, Brazil for the biggest fight of his career as he takes on the UFC veteran and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master, Demian Maia.
The former Bellator and CFFC welterweight champion lost his first fight since 2012 when he lost a split decision to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos but responded emphatically with a knockout over Ben Saunders in his last fight.
Maia is on a three-fight losing streak as hopes of another title shot have faded and although losing three in a row can cost a UFC contract, these losses were against the top-three ranked welterweights and the worst possible match-ups for him. Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman are tremendous wrestlers and diffused his takedown attempts, leaving the Brazilian relatively helpless.
THE PREDICTION
Good knows what he needs to do after witnessing the blueprint to beating Maia in his last three fights: he needs to defend the takedown at all costs. Although Maia’s takedown accuracy is a mere 25.2%, he will keep shooting in for the duration of the fight as he only needs one opportunity to end the fight on the mat.
Good is clearly the better striker and his takedown defence is impressive, but we can ignore Maia’s form and assume he will take Good down to effortlessly wrap up a submission.
Winner: Maia via Submission
Striking and grappling stats sourced via FightMetric.
