Quotes from Demian Maia

People learn. If you market somebody, let's say GSP, a lot of people were saying he was doing boring fights because he was taking the guys down and controlling them, but he was winning, and he was the guy who selling the most.

I think in the long term, you make money with focusing on the sport.

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 know you can't lose concentration when you get in range, otherwise you'll get caught with something.

I had good teachers and I loved to compete in jiu-jitsu. I was doing good, a world champ, but I always knew I wanted to fight.

Grappling is my style.

I think I've already won the most important titles in Brazilian jujitsu and grappling.

Striking isn't just about kicking and punching. It's far more complex than that. It's also about timing and range.

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.

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.

That was my dream since I was a kid, since I first saw a vale tudo event in my hometown of Sao Paulo. I wanted to compete.

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 want to be remembered as a guy who goes out and represents the art of jiu-jitsu.

I always try to improve my stand-up game, it's very important for me.

When I see wrestlers fight, they train a lot of boxing because they don't want to end up on bottom.

In the 1930s, in boxing, to be the heavyweight champion of the world was really, really big, people wanted to see the toughest guys. But what I've figured out now, in the '50s, '60s, boxing started to become more entertainment than sport.

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 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'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.

A lot of people came up to me and said you need to trash talk. That's not me.

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.

My loss to Marquardt was just one of those things. I made a mistake and got caught. I think I had a lot more to offer in that fight, but he caught me before I had a chance to show it.

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.

MMA is pretty tough on your mind because it's a sport that's not just about winning. You really want to win bad, but it's tough when you lose. You get beaten. And it really messes with your ego, because nobody wants to get beaten by other people physically. It's not just a game. You get beaten physically.