Just when you thought UFC 194 had more than enough big fights the UFC have just added another one, with welterweight grappling standouts Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson now booked for the Las Vegas extraveganza on December 12th.
Maia is currently on a three-fight winning streak and ended Neil Magny’s seven fight unbeaten run last time out by submission which leaves him placed at No.6 in the 170lb rankings heading into this event.
Nelson’s UFC run started with four wins in a row, but he came unstuck against Rick Story in October of last year, losing out by split decision. However, the Icelandic fighter has since rebounded with a first round submission victory over Brandon Thatch and is currently just outside the division’s top 10 on the official UFC rankings at No.11.
This looks to be a very intriguing stylistic match-up, particularly on the mat with Maia being widely regarded as one of the greatest BJJ practitioners ever to step into the Octagon, though Nelson is also a highly thought-of grappler and should hold the striking advantage here.
If it holds together UFC 194 is shaping up to be one of the best cards the promotion has ever put together with the line-up headlined by the featherweight title clash between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor with middleweight champion Chris Weidman making his latest title defense against Luke Rockhold in the co-main event.
A potential 185lb title eliminator between Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza and Yoel Romero also features on the main card while the most recent additions to the card include Max Holloway Vs Jeremy Stephens, Urijah Faber Vs Frankie Staenz, and not forgetting Michelle Waterson Vs Tecia Torres.
