Quote of the Day: Thales Leites Calls Out Demian Maia
by Kid Nate on Dec 9, 2008 11:18 AM EST
in MMA News
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"I’d accept a fight, I’m a professional. Demian is a great fighter and has been doing a great job in UFC. It’s possible that they put this fight, because the belt is with a Brazilian guy and we’re growing, so they can put this fight to take one of the Brazilians from the tops", believes Leites, who believes that would be a great fight. "I believe it’d be a good fight, we almost have the same game and it’s kind of different from the American guys, who goes from striking and work on the ground n’ pound. We know each other’s game and it’d be a huge fight. Demian has been doing a good job, but I’d accept this fight".
Thales Leites talking to Tatame.com
HT MMA News
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Leites has elite level BJJ skills but I believe Maia is on completely different level than guys like Thales or even Dean Lister. I’ve said this before, but if Maia can improve his stand up…which only time will tell, he will be a top 5 middleweight by the end of 09.
It remains to be seen with Drysdale, but Maia’s transition from elite level BJJ grappling to MMA imo has probably been the most successful out of any active fighter in the UFC or other orgs.
Pretty sick to think that guys on Team Mir got to roll day in and day out with Maia, Mir and Drysdale.
Maia’s transition from elite level BJJ grappling to MMA imo has probably been the most successful out of any active fighter in the UFC or other orgs.
Subjective as these opinions are, I still think Demian Maia’s BJJ is on a different level than BJ Penn’s.
While Penn has some pretty damn good Mundial accolades and we all know how his career has panned out, I say the elite BJJ practitioners in MMA right now, the ‘best of the best’ (copy right Top Gun) – Maia, Drysdale, Werdum, Garcia, Roger Gracie…..Maia has had the most success in transition to MMA compared to the elite BJJ practitioners.
You are right though, Of the ‘great’ practitioners—-Almeida, Penn, Lister, Leites, etc…Penn hands down has had the most success. Perhaps it’s just another argument as to who are the ‘elite’ grapplers in MMA?
The level of their respective BJJ games is irrelevant. The statement was that Maia has transitioned to MMA better than any current fighter. Considering BJ Penn has held titles in two weight classes, I beg to differ.
The statement included ‘elite’ level BJJ grappling. It has everything to do with my argument.
But just for grappler’s sake, would you say that Roger, Robert, Demian and Marcelo are better BJJ practictioners than BJ? I would. Perhaps you wouldn’t. It’s all subjective.
My point is, out of those guys (not including BJ), Demian has transitioned into MMA successfully. That’s it. Plain and simple. We agree to disagree.
Yes, BJ Penn is a god, we get it.
I’m trying to follow this debate — are you saying that BJ Penn was not an “elite” level BJJ grappler before transitioning into mma? That’s what it looks like you’re saying, but you haven’t actually come right out and said it …
*Note that I’m not a BJ Penn fan, really, although I respect his abilities when he actually bothers to train and come into the fight prepared and in shape.
I think he’s less interested in talking about B.J. who competed in BJJ in a different era than Maia, Drysdale, Roger Gracie, etc.
He wants to talk about which of those guys has made the best transition to MMA.
So when he wrote:
It remains to be seen with Drysdale, but Maia’s transition from elite level BJJ grappling to MMA imo has probably been the most successful out of any active fighter in the UFC or other orgs.
he really meant: “Maia’s transtion from elite level BJJ grappling to MMA imo has probably been the most successful out of any active fighter in the UFC or other orgs in the era after the one in which BJ Penn transitioned”?
That would make more sense, I guess, than asserting that BJ wasn’t an elite level BJJ grappler.
What the hell just happened?
You said Maia has more successfully transitioned into MMA than ANY high level BJJ practitioner today. I disagreed and suggested that BJ Penn is that man. Then you go on with this laundry list of BJJ fighters, and how great they are in BJJ, and I’m not arguing any of that.
All I’m saying is that you’re getting ahead of yourself. Or, more accurately, you’re getting ahead of Maia. I’m not saying he stinks. I’m not even saying he won’t ever prove to be the most successful MMA star to have transitioned from high level BJJ competition. I’m just saying their are guys who made their bones doing that very thing while Maia was still competing in the mundials.
That final, sarcastic remark of yours leads me to believe you’re just biased against BJ. Any particular reason for that? Because I think most reasonable people would admit that he was both extremely successful at high level BJJ and became extremely successful in MMA. Rather quickly, I’d add, but that’s a bit more subjective.
Arguments aside, I am a huge BJ Penn fan. I’ve been lucky enough to meet him and see him fight.
I should have prefaced my original statement by including “recent years”: "Maia’s transtion from elite level BJJ grappling to MMA imo has probably been the most successful out of any active fighter in the UFC or other orgs in recent years.
Yes, I’ll definitely concede that BJ P4P has probably made thee most successful transition from BJJ to MMA perhaps in the entire history of organized MMA. Fast forward to today’s group of BJJ practitioners, I think Demian Maia has been or will experience more success than todays crop of elite level grapplers like Gracie, Garcia, Werdum and possibly Drysdale.
I think this would be awesome. I also think Maia would make Leites tap if it did turn into a BJJ match. Leites is impressive, but he’d be much smarter to try to keep it on the feet. Against Maia, though, that’s easier said than done. I just don’t think anyone in the UFC has better BJJ than Maia right now. IMO.
That’s it!! I am also calling out Maia! See you at The Omni!!
Make that fight happen Dana! It would be great, but I have to stick with Maia.
Eliot Marshall: Bader won. Like I said in the episode, I'm not going to make any excuses. It's my job to be able to deal with when somebody's doing that. It's not his job to change up his tactics.
http://eliotmarshall.com/
I think the fight makes a lot of sense right now. Both guys are on a roll within the division and have outclassed most of the other fighters, but have still not broken into the upper echelon held by guys like Marquardt, Henderson, and Okami – not to mention Anderson Silva. A win here would set the winner up for a number one contenders match.
If Nate isn’t opposite Bisping, I want a rematch. He beat Thales ass in their last go around and lost on account of being a total wild man (and before anyone gets their butt in a pucker, I thought he should have been DQ’d on the piledriver too).
Thank you.
The deducted points and the piledriver are irrelevant compared to everything else that happened in that fight: Nate whupped that ass. He was having his way with Leites in every possible way and I think we need a rematch.
by dropkick101 on Dec 9, 2008 12:46 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Lets not forget that Leites dropped Nate with a brutal uppercut in the first round and won that one without penalty points.
Regardless
Wouldn’t you think a rematch would be an easy fight to sell? My point isn’t that Leites lost, it’s that I want to see them fight again.
No doubt.
Leites is ducking the match though.
And I was wrong about the punch being an uppercut, Leites dropped Marquardt with a right cross.
Yeah, but I knew what you meant..
And that’s all the more reason to want to see them fight again. Didn’t enjoy Leites comments about Nate having to climb the ladder to get to him..
Nate absolutely whupped that ass. Rec’d.
by Derek Suboticki on Dec 9, 2008 3:38 PM EST up reply actions
Yea, but for the point deductions I had Nate winning that fight too. I simultainously had to be wonder “what the hell is marquart thinking – a pile driver?” and “that’s one of the coolest illegal moves I’ve ever seen in an mma fight”.
Me too
I thought he won on points, even after deductions, but that he maybe should have taken a DQ for his pile driver. However, I can see why it wouldn’t be, as well. Live, it seemed like a very uncontrolled motion. But in viewing it afterwards, it’s clear he was trying to drive him into the mat.
Also, I love the new Nate Marquardt.
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