Top 102 Quotes & Sayings by Demian Maia
Explore popular quotes and sayings by a Brazilian mixed martial artist Demian Maia.
Last updated on September 12, 2024.
If we fought like the old days, with no time limit, it would be better to work. We only have five minutes to work per round so it's complicated, especially because everybody knows that my ground game is good.
I know my mission is not just to be a champion, I mean, being champion would be great and I want to be one, but it's not under my control, you know.
To me, when you're not as hungry to train hard and learn new things and get better as you once were, I think it's time to stop.
The striking game is always a lottery game, so I prefer to take the safe situation. Submission is the best for me. I'm the guy looking for it all the time.
I think that people believe in lies and they repeat the lies so many times that the people start to believe, 'ah, Demian is not fighting for the title because he doesn't sell.'
I'd like to be remembered for being the one responsible for adapting Brazilian jiu-jitsu for modern MMA. For what I've learned from fence work and some ground positions. Lots of details I developed after years and years studying them, testing what worked on the mat, against the fence, what kept opponents on the ground, control situations.
Don't get me wrong - I love going to academy every day and training as hard as I can; I love to learn. But I have other plans. When you are in the UFC, you gotta save 80 percent of your time for that. I want to do other nice stuff, other things that give me pleasure also.
In general, I think longer fights benefits jiu-jitsu fighters because the other guy can make mistakes.
A lot of people came up to me and said you need to trash talk. That's not me.
That's why I love jiu-jitsu, this is the best martial art in the world. It's an art that seeks the peace, to dominate your opponent.
Sonnen, to me, he's a great athlete, but he created that image so much for himself that people don't think he's that good. They just think he talks. So I think it's a risk you run when you do that.
Jiu-jitsu fighters usually have an advantage in longer fights even though MMA has breaks between rounds.
I was always very, very focused, just thinking about the title.
I'm really happy to be able to live my life doing what I love.
I'm not going to sell myself just because I want to be a champion, just because I want to make more money, you know?
Things can change quickly in the UFC. I lost to Nate Marquardt in my first loss as a middleweight and then I defeated Dan Miller and fought for the title against Anderson Silva.
Sometimes I don't talk too much, that's myself, but I truly believe I can be the champion. I feel, I can visualize that.
I will always go for the submission instead of hurting my opponent.
I will fight everywhere, but I trust a lot on my jiu-jitsu.
I was never a playboy, you know? But it's easy to say that because it's just a stereotype. 'OK, this boy did college so he must be a playboy.'
When I see wrestlers fight, they train a lot of boxing because they don't want to end up on bottom.
A loss is horrible, and it's even worse in the UFC.
Fights are fights. It's a cliche, but it's true, you can never know how they'll go down for sure until you do it.
I want to show in a violent sport like our sport, you don't need to hurt anybody in order to win.
Seminars, TV shows, documentaries, always spreading Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I'm an instrument of this art more than a character myself.
I have my principles. I'd rather die than change my principles.
People always go to the ground with me trying to just hold me. They stall and wait for the referee to stand them back up so they can start it all over.
When I started to strike a lot back in the days I lost a little bit my jiu-jitsu. It's normal.
Playboy in Brazil is like a rich boy, but I've never been a rich boy. My family is not rich. Actually, I help all my family.
I lived in Barueri for a long time, and now I live in a city close to Barueri, so it's like my backyard.
Marketing is everything.
I believe in my jiu-jitsu.
Jiu-jitsu teaches you not to hurt your opponent, and that's inside of me.
When I fight, nobody boos. Everybody likes it. Everyone cheers for me. I'm happy about that, because I'm one of the guys who is putting the grappling and jiu-jitsu on the level where people are interested in the technique. I can get people excited about it.
I come to grapple.
I didn't choose this career for money. When I started training, I did it because I liked it, and I never had money for anything in my life.
I think sometimes the fighters aren't very clear on things, and even myself, I'm a fighter, a lot of fighters make mistakes about working their image and how they market themselves.
The day I stop aiming for the title, I will stop fighting.
I know I have a lot of fans, and it's a big mistake try to please everybody.
I think I adapted well for MMA.
Everybody needs money, obviously, but that's far from being the most important thing in the world to me.
A lot of people underestimate Jake Shields, but his results speak for themselves. He's tough to beat.
You can trade money for other good things and that's nice, but it's not the first thing that matters to me. I'm a martial artist and I have other priorities.
I started training judo when I was 5 years old. I didn't know much. My mom just took me and my brother to do some judo because we were very energetic. We did that for a couple of years. I don't know why we stopped, but I came back to try other forms of martial arts like kung fu and karate when I was 12 and never stopped.
I had my first professional fight was in 2001 in Venezuela - it was also my first international trip away from Brazil. It was a great experience. Then in 2005, I went to Finland and won. The next year there was a tournament in Brazil with three fights in one night. I was the underdog and won all three fights.
Submitting is always the most important thing to me. Victory first, but with a submission is what I always want.
I don't like winning in a violent way.
I'm a jiu-jitsu guy and that's my root.
When you get asked if you want the title, you really need to push for that. That's why I want to do it my style, not do it so loud, but I want to fight for the title.
When I was 16, we get kicked out of our house because my mother and my father were separated, so we didn't have money to pay. We got kicked out and had to live with my grandmother, sleeping in the living room, for many years.
For the title, I would do anything.
Everything I did in my life was about the title, but that's too much pressure over me. When I relaxed more, even my performance became better.
It's hard to be in the UFC one year.
All of my fights, I try to end the fight. That's my style.
For the title, if they say, 'Ok, let's sit and wait,' I will sit and wait because I know it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I want to be remembered as a guy who goes out and represents the art of jiu-jitsu.
I went to college. I did that but I worked at the same time, and I trained.
We are athletes, and we work very hard in our way to the title.
When I watched the first fight between Woodley and Thompson, and I want to make clear that I really admire both guys, for me the fight was really boring at UFC 205 because nobody pulled the trigger for three rounds. The fourth round there was a scramble and that was really exciting, but then the fifth round was so-so again.
I don't sell myself. I am what I am. I'm a role model for a lot of people, for my kids. I don't want to just change because I want to make more money.
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