Long Island MMA’s Ryan LaFlare vs UFC staple Damian Maia

Undefeated UFC welterweight prospect Ryan LaFlare has been out of commission for some time with a knee injury following his last victory in the octagon which was over John “Doomsday” Howard. However, LaFlare’s rehab is coming to a close and the fight which he will return for is going to produce fireworks! His opponent will be highly regarded welterweight Damian Maia who is returning from a bone marrow infection in his shoulder. The fight was verbally agreed on and has since been made official and will take place at UFC Fight Night 62 at the Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Damian Maia is a veteran of the UFC, he is best known for his formidable Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills and is coming off of a decision victory over Alexander Yakovlev. The Long Island MMA fighter Ryan LaFlare is looking to continue his careers undefeated streak with a win over Maia which would likely catapult him into the top ten. LaFlare is currently ranked fifteenth in the division in respect to Maia’s rank of eight. Any grappling exchange between these fighters should be extremely entertaining. LaFlare has a very grueling style of grappling. He is able to stick to his opponents and control them very well but he black belt level Jiu Jitsu of Maia should make for exciting scrambles.

Should this fight stay standing, which is extremely likely due to the formidable wrestling ability of LaFlare the scales could be seen tipping in his favor. Ryan possesses very well rounded striking abilities and has excellent movement. His aggressive style and vicious kicks will certainly become problematic for Maia. Although Maia has stood and traded before with success, LaFlare seems to have the advantage in that department. This could be considered a striker vs grappler match up if one were to look at each fighter’s strengths, however, both men are very well rounded martial artists. This fight could go anywhere and anything could happen!