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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"I don’t know [if Demian Maia will want to strike with me]. For what I could tell about his last fight, he really likes striking, but [his] strongest point is his Jiu-Jitsu. If we must strike, let's do it... He has an excellent ground game. I've watched his fights for a long time, he has a good ground game, but mine ain't any [worse]. I still haven't had the chance to show it in MMA, but I can fight him on the floor. My ground game is focused in MMA, I don't only work on the guard, use it to sweep... If you are not careful, I'll get you and you'll tap out... No [I'm not afraid of Maia on the ground]. If he makes a mistake, I'll submit him."
-Jorge Santiago talks to Tatame.com about his upcoming UFC 136 fight with Demian Maia in October.
Penick's Analysis: While he's supremely confident in his own skills, this kind of bravado about his own ground game is the type of thing that could backfire if he gets into a battle with Maia on the floor. That said, his seeming willingness to fight Maia on the ground brings about the possibility of a flashback to Maia's fantastic back and forth battle with Jason MacDonald at UFC 87 in 2008, and if that's the type of fight we get from these two middleweights, it will be an excellent fight at UFC 136. But Santiago has to be careful of being too comfortable on the ground with someone like Maia, as he could wind up on the wrong end of this if he gets overconfident there.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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