MMA Preview – Demian Maia vs Belal Muhammad at UFC 263
DEMIAN MAIA VS BELAL MUHAMMAD FACTS
When is UFC 263? Sunday 13th June, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 263? Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 263? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 263
What channel is UFC 263 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC 263? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
DEMIAN MAIA VS BELAL MUHAMMAD LOWDOWN
After a brief resurgence following unanimous decision losses to Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman, Demian Maia (28-10) showed life in the old dog by submitting Lyman Good, outpointing Rocco Martin and submitting Ben Askren. However, if you go on a winning streak in the welterweight division, you are going to run into a monster, and that monster was Gilbert Burns who handed Maia his first knockout loss since Nate Marquardt cracked him in 2009.
Thankfully, Belal Muhammad (18-3(1)) has recovered from that nasty eye poke accidentally inflicted by Leon Edwards back in March. He stepped up filling in for Khamzat Chimaev and he wanted a rematch, but he was losing that fight and Maia makes more sense. It is a great test for him, and he plans to pick up where he left off on that impressive four-fight win streak before the Edwards fight where he pocketed Curtis Millender, Takashi Sato, Good and Dhiego Lima into the win column.
DEMIAN MAIA VS BELAL MUHAMMAD PREDICTION
We know how skilled and technical these two are, but it is safe to say this will not be a ‘fight of the night’ candidate. Maia will try and get Muhammad to the floor and wrap up his 14th submission, but Muhammad has very strong wrestling which has been the Brazilian’s kryptonite.
Muhammad has never been submitted in his career but, if Maia grabs his back, it will be game over. However, we believe Muhammad’s takedown defence will be good enough to stay out of trouble. He has defended 85% of takedowns attempted on him in the UFC and we back him to fend Maia’s attempts off for three rounds.
So, this will keep the fight on the feet where Muhammad will have a clear advantage. We cannot see Muhammad landing knockout, but we can certainly see him winning some uneventful rounds after defending the takedowns.
Prediction: Muhammad via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
