Middleweights Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago clashed on the Spike TV portion of the UFC 136 card from Houston's Toyota Center.
UFC 136 results: Demian Maia defeats Jorge Santiago by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
It took Maia about a minute and a half to get Santiago on his back. They traded punches and Maia held his own first. Once on the ground, Santiago threw him off with a nice push kick as Maia tried to force a guard pass. Back on their feet, Maia lunged forward between wild punches. Then Maia caught Santiago on the top of his head with a hard right hand. Santiago went for a flying knee but Maia caught it for a take down. On the ground, Maia landed elbows as Santiago fought back to full guard. Santiago caught Maia with a sharp up kick before Maia dived back into guard.
Santiago opened the second with a high kick that Maia blocked. Maia lunged forward behind some clumsy shots. Two minutes of ugly standing exchanges followed before Maia got Santiago down. Maia landed some ground and pound but couldn't get past Santiago's guard.
Maia opened the third round with a single leg that briefly had Santiago down. Santiago got free but Maia got him down again. Santiago got to his feet but Maia stayed glued to his back and Santiago had no answer. By 2:30, Maia had him down again. Elbows from the top by Maia precipitated a sharp upkick from Santiago. Maia got back down to 1/2 guard and landed more elbows from the top. Maia tried to get to mount but Santiago kicked free. Maia finished the bout landing elbows from the top.
Santiago falls to 0-2 in this latest UFC run.