The UFC on Fox 21 main event between Carlos Condit and Demian Maia was doomed to end in disappointment, one way or the other.
Unfortunately for Condit, he has to carry that disappointment after Maia defeated him Saturday night in Vancouver, British Columbia, via a first-round submission.
Condit is one of the biggest fan favorites in MMA. Dating all the way back to his days as the WEC welterweight champion, he has been a staple of the division's Top 10 and delivered exciting performances in every outing.
Unfortunately, his tough split-decision loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC 195 seemed to suck the enthusiasm out him, and left him hinting at retirement. A loss to Maia would likely end his days as a title contender and lead to the end of his career.
Maia, on the other hand, is one of those fighters who has always quietly competed at an elite level but has never gotten respect for it. His grappling is chess in a sport where most fighters are playing checkers and most fans are still trying to figure out tic-tac-toe.
Because of that, he has received no real help from the promotion and has largely been relegated to Brazilian Fight Night events. Entering UFC on Fox 21, however, he owned one of the longest active winning streaks in the division (five fights) and seemed poised to make his way back into contention for the first time since 2010.
Entering the event, it was clear that one man would have his days as a contender ended. That was Condit, and they ended in the most emphatic way.
Early in the first round, Maia shot for a single-leg takedown, turned the corner and landed in a spread half-guard. He threw some punches and elbows and, as Condit tried to slither away, exploded into back mount. After some brief hand fighting, Maia secured the rear-naked choke.
And that was the entire bout. Just under two minutes of action.
MMA journalist Chamatkar Sandhu showed Maia's reaction to the win:
Demian Maia's reaction tells you everything you need to know with regards to how much this Condit win meant to him. pic.twitter.com/fy60ebN9LN
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) August 28, 2016
In a vacuum, it's an astounding performance by Maia. Condit is one of the most talented, most experienced fighters at 170 pounds and is coached by Greg Jackson, one of the greatest minds in the sport. Maia, however, is just so good that he managed to effortlessly defeat his opponent in the most predictable way.
This wasn't in a vacuum, though. It was a fight that came at a time when Condit was on the brink of hanging them up. And he may well have gotten that last nudge into doing so.
The future isn't written in stone for either man, of course. Condit wouldn't be the first fighter to ponder retirement, take some time off, and return to the sport due to his sheer love of competition (and/or out of pure financial necessity). Maia, meanwhile, said he is willing to wait for a title shot that may or may not ever come, per MMA writer Josh Gross:
Maia says he'll wait for the Woodley-Wonderboy winner. He should. Wonderful ambassador for BJJ and Brazil.
— Josh Gross (@yay_yee) August 28, 2016
Still, this is a bittersweet moment. Maia, finally, seems poised to get the praise and recognition he deserves. It's just a shame it had to come at Condit's expense.
