UFC Minneapolis: Demian Maia Grinds Past Rocco Martin

Like so many others before him, Rocco Martin was unable to counter the vaunted grappling game of Demian Maia tonight at UFC Minneapolis.

Maia came out pressuring, and around 90 seconds in, he shot in for a single leg. Maia was able to Martin to the mat, and moments later, he locked up Rocco’s legs. Maia fired in some punches, but eventually, Martin was able to work his way back to his feet. Right before the round ended, Martin missed with a flying knee.

Martin shut down a couple of takedown attempts from Maia early into round two. But, moments later, Maia shot in again and took Martin down. Maia moved into mount, with Martin sitting up against the cage, but eventually, the referee decided to restart the fight standing. In an ensuing scramble, Maia wound up on top, shortly before the round ended.

Not long into round three, Martin missed with a head kick, as he continued to press forward. Moments later, Martin fired off another head kick that Maia blocked. Maia shot in with just over a minute left, but Martin defended the TD attempt. Moments later, Martin planted a hard right hand, but as he rushed in, Maia pulled guard. Martin landed a few shots from above, but it was too little, too late. Maia was awarded the decision win.

Here are the results so far for UFC Minneapolis.

Demian Maia def. Anthony Rocco Martin via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Vinc Pichel def. Roosevelt Roberts via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Drew Dober def. Marco Polo Reyes via KO (punches) R1, 1:07
Alonzo Menifield def. Paul Craig via KO (punches) R1, 3:19
Ricardo Ramos def. Journey Newson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Eryk Anders def. Vinicius Moreira via KO (punches) R1, 1:18
Jared Gordon def. Dan Moret via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Dalcha Lungiambula def. Dequan Townsend via TKO (strikes) R3, 0:42
Amanda Ribas def. Emily Whitmire via submission (rear-naked-choke) R2, 2:10
Maurice Greene def. Junior Albini via TKO (punches) R1, 3:38