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Inconsistent ways continue
Maia lost to Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Flying high off a huge win over Casey O'Neill this past March, Maia came crashing down to Earth here against Araujo in a fight she had to have. Jennifer found herself down two rounds on all three scorecards, with Round 2 being a particular struggle, as Araujo racked up 4:35 worth of control time in the second frame alone. Maia rebounded in Round 3, but it was too little, too late. Having just turned 35 years of age, Maia is sporting a 3-4 record in her past seven fights dating back to November 2020. There's a high likelihood we have already seen the best she has to offer inside the Octagon.
Flying high off a huge win over Casey O'Neill this past March, Maia came crashing down to Earth here against Araujo in a fight she had to have. Jennifer found herself down two rounds on all three scorecards, with Round 2 being a particular struggle, as Araujo racked up 4:35 worth of control time in the second frame alone. Maia rebounded in Round 3, but it was too little, too late. Having just turned 35 years of age, Maia is sporting a 3-4 record in her past seven fights dating back to November 2020. There's a high likelihood we have already seen the best she has to offer inside the Octagon.
Scheduled to fight Araujo
Maia will fight Viviane Araujo in a flyweight bout at UFC Vegas 81 on Oct. 14, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Maia's previous opponent, Casey O'Neill, was expected to fight Araujo at UFC 293 in Sydney. But after O'Neill's withdrawal, Maia has volunteered to fight Araujo instead. The two were scheduled to fight at UFC Vegas 4 and UFC Vegas 5 but had their fight re-scheduled and canceled, respectively.
Maia's previous opponent, Casey O'Neill, was expected to fight Araujo at UFC 293 in Sydney. But after O'Neill's withdrawal, Maia has volunteered to fight Araujo instead. The two were scheduled to fight at UFC Vegas 4 and UFC Vegas 5 but had their fight re-scheduled and canceled, respectively.
Pulls upset of Casey O'Neill
Maia defeated Casey O'Neill via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC 286 on Saturday in London.
ANALYSIS
It was a second straight victory for Maia as a betting underdog, and she went about it in a similar way to her unanimous decision win over Maryna Moroz last November. Maia simply sat back and countered the aggressive O'Neill with strikes. Casey was unable to get her head off the center line, and Jennifer responded by battering her over and over. Maia's attacks were very basic, and she barely targeted the body at all, but the result her was never in doubt. Jennifer's 6-5 record in her first 11 UFC bouts is nothing to write home about, and it seems highly unlikely there will be any new wrinkles added to her game at age 34, but the two-straight wins means her roster spot will be secure for the foreseeable future.
It was a second straight victory for Maia as a betting underdog, and she went about it in a similar way to her unanimous decision win over Maryna Moroz last November. Maia simply sat back and countered the aggressive O'Neill with strikes. Casey was unable to get her head off the center line, and Jennifer responded by battering her over and over. Maia's attacks were very basic, and she barely targeted the body at all, but the result her was never in doubt. Jennifer's 6-5 record in her first 11 UFC bouts is nothing to write home about, and it seems highly unlikely there will be any new wrinkles added to her game at age 34, but the two-straight wins means her roster spot will be secure for the foreseeable future.
Tabbed for UFC 286
Maia will take on Casey O'Neill at UFC 286 on March 18, the UFC announced on Monday.
ANALYSIS
Maia was able to defeat Maryna Moroz by unanimous decision as the underdog last November. That pushed her record with the UFC to 5-5. She will take on a fighter in O'Neill who is coming off ACL surgery.
Maia was able to defeat Maryna Moroz by unanimous decision as the underdog last November. That pushed her record with the UFC to 5-5. She will take on a fighter in O'Neill who is coming off ACL surgery.
Slugs way to victory as underdog
Maia defeated Maryna Moroz via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC Vegas 65 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
The expectation was that Moroz would be able to outwork Maia as the longer fighter, but the Brazillian showed a pinpoint ability to counter "Iron Lady" on the way in, timing her rhythm and clocking her with big right hands. It became something of a war down the stretch, but the power was clearly on the side of Maia, which was enough to win her the decision. Maia has skills as a boxer who can wrestle when she needs to, but a 5-5 mark in the UFC likely won't be enough to put her back in title contention any time soon. She improves to 20-9-1 in professional MMA as a result of the victory.
The expectation was that Moroz would be able to outwork Maia as the longer fighter, but the Brazillian showed a pinpoint ability to counter "Iron Lady" on the way in, timing her rhythm and clocking her with big right hands. It became something of a war down the stretch, but the power was clearly on the side of Maia, which was enough to win her the decision. Maia has skills as a boxer who can wrestle when she needs to, but a 5-5 mark in the UFC likely won't be enough to put her back in title contention any time soon. She improves to 20-9-1 in professional MMA as a result of the victory.