Issue 148

December 2016

1: THROW DOWN

Maia first started throwing people around in judo classes from aged four, until he was six.

2: FIRST STRIKE

Before he started BJJ, Maia was a striker, practicing karate and kung fu during his teenage years.

3: A GI THING

The Brazilian finally started jiu-jitsu aged 19 after he saw its effectiveness at an MMA event.

4: WRITE THERE

While he started to grapple two to three times a day, he also studied journalism at university.

5: RECORD TIME

It only took Maia four years and seven months from his first class to earn his BJJ black belt.

6: MR. INTERNATIONAL

The submission specialist’s first two fights were in unusual locations: Venezuela and Finland.

7: FIGURE FOUR

He won a submission bonus in four of his first five UFC fights. Dustin Hazelett stopped his streak at UFC 91.

8: RUSTY

He says it’s hard to roll with new-generation grapplers because he doesn’t practice in the gi as much.