UFC
Middleweights Demian Maia and Jorge Santiago to clash at UFC 136 in October
Jul 15, 2011 - 4:30:30 PM Middleweights Demian Maia and Jorge Santiago to clash at UFC 136 in October

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC 136 card has gotten another exciting fight, as middleweights Demian Maia and Jorge Santiago will square off on the event, which comes to the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on October 8.

Maia took to Twitter to reveal the fight, and his comment was then re-tweeted by the UFC, essentially confirming the matchup.

It will mark Santiago's second fight in the organization since returning from a four year stint on the Japanese scene. In his first fight back, he was defeated by Brian Stann by TKO at UFC 130 in May. The loss was only his second since 2006.

Maia, meanwhile, will look to bounce back from a questionable decision loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 131 last month. Maia surprised everyone by out-striking Munoz in the first round and employing an unexpected gameplan. He was out-muscled by Munoz in the second, but then appeared to do more overall in the third. However, Munoz was given the decision by the judges, and the loss was just his third in eleven fights in the UFC.

Penick's Analysis: This is the very best fight the UFC could make for these two. It's a fantastic matchup between two very good ground fighters with adequate striking as well, and stylistically I can't wait to see how the matchup unfolds. Maia doesn't hit anywhere near as hard as the fighters that have knocked Santiago out in the past, and against lesser strikers Santiago, even in taking punishment, has been able to come back for fantastic finishes. If the two bring the fight to the ground, both are very capable with their submission games as well, and overall it's should be an incredibly fun fight in the middleweight division.