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A recently booked UFC 163 contest will pit welterweights Josh Koscheck and Demian Maia against one another.

The pairing presents a couple of foes at vastly dissimilar parts of their respective careers, Koscheck attempting to cling to relevance, Maia zooming towards a title shot.

But when we assess the matchup between the two, it is an unmistakably dangerous fight for either party, and one that presents an intriguing clash of styles.

Here we will take a look at the fight between Koscheck and Maia, and examine how it is likely to play out. We will assess which fighter has an edge in each of the striking, wrestling and submission areas of the game, and use those assessments to project the fight’s probable winner.

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Demian Maia is continuing to climb the welterweight ladder, and his next stop on the way to a title shot goes through Josh Koscheck at UFC 163.

MMA Fighting reports that sources close to them have confirmed the fight, with the UFC yet to make the bout official.

Maia, a fourth-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, has torn a path right through the UFC’s 170-pound division ever since dropping from middleweight. He has racked up three straight wins against Dong Hyun Kim, Rick Story and Jon Fitch.

Maia is also a one-time title contender from middleweight, having dropped a surprisingly competitive, yet strangely paced match against Anderson Silva.

Although Koscheck (No. 10) holds a lower rank than Maia (No. 5) in the official UFC rankings, defeating the one-time title contender and 22-fight UFC veteran would arguably set up Maia for a future title shot against Georges St-Pierre—assuming that he still holds the belt by that time.

GSP is slated to face current No. 1 contender Johny Hendricks at a future event.

Despite spending his career as a perennial “Top 10″ welterweight, Koscheck has seen his stock dip in recent fights, having dropped back-to-back losses for the first time in his career against Hendricks and Strikeforce import Robbie Lawler.

Lawler‘s return to the UFC against Koscheck was extremely emphatic, with “Ruthless” putting away “Kos” via technical knockout in one round at UFC 157.

Assuming that the Maia vs. Koscheck bout takes place, the home-field advantage will belong to Maia.

UFC 163 is set to have a featherweight title fight starring Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis, currently rumored to be taking place in Brazil at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

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Two-time “Fight of the Night” award winner Leslie Smith has signed a new, multi-fight deal with Invicta Fighting Championships.

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Two-time “Fight of the Night” award winner Leslie Smith has signed a new, multi-fight deal with Invicta Fighting Championships.

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Demian Maia has looked like a man on a mission since dropping to 170 pounds.

The former middleweight title challenger has out-grappled judo black belt Dong Hyun Kim, become the first fighter to stop the scrappy Rick Story and beat long-time welterweight contender Jon Fitch at his own game on the ground.

In doing so, Maia has already become a top-10 UFC welterweight and is starting to look like one of the division’s biggest threats to champion Georges St-Pierre. A world-class jiu-jitsu practitioner with solid wrestling, the Brazilian could present St-Pierre with the most well-rounded ground game he’s seen.

All this momentum he’s riding, and UFC matchmakers have handed Maia a fight with Josh Koscheck.

Yeah, Koscheck is a big name in the welterweight division and he’s still a top-10 fighter, but this matchup is an unnecessary step backward for the surging Maia.

Koscheck is coming off a knockout loss to Robbie Lawler, who had lost five of his prior eight fights heading into that bout. Prior to being beaten by Lawler, Koscheck was defeated by Johny Hendricks. Yet, here he is, barely clinging onto the No. 10 spot in the 170-pound rankings and still being given an opportunity to meet one of the hottest contenders in the welterweight class.

A UFC veteran who has paid his dues, Koscheck deserves big fights, but there are plenty of popular welterweight fighters coming off losses that could have made more sense as opponents than Maia. Martin Kampmann and Nate Marquardt both come to mind.

Maia deserves a better fight than this.

Coming off a dominant win over Jon Fitch, Maia should be fighting a top-five welterweight, not a struggling former teammate of his most recent opponent with a very similar set of skills.

With Rory MacDonald set to fight Jake Ellenberger and Hendricks in line to challenge St-Pierre, the options were limited for UFC matchmakers in determining Maia’s next fight. In a way, that should have made the decision even easier for them, though.

The only top-five welterweight not locked into a matchup at the moment is Carlos Condit. Although—like Koscheck—he has lost two straight fights, he took elite welterweights St-Pierre and Hendricks the distance in entertaining contests.

It’s possible the UFC is looking to set Condit up with a rematch against Nick Diaz, but I’m not so sure that’s a fight most fans want to see, considering the chess match that the first meeting between those two fighters turned into. And with Diaz not even guaranteed to return to the Octagon, it’s definitely not a matchup that’s worth holding out for at Maia’s expense. 

An impressive win over Condit could have set Maia up for a title shot. Instead, Maia finds himself in a matchup that does little for him even if he wins in an incredible way.

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Demian Maia vs. Josh Koscheck targeted for UFC 163 in August MMA Fighting Demian Maia vs. Josh Koschech is slated to take place on the Aug. 3 card, MMAFighting.com confirmed with sources close to the fight after Brazilian Web site News MMA first reported it earlier this week. The UFC has yet to officially announced the 170 … The Best Fighters at Each Major Component of MMABleacher Report Ronda Rousey , UFC 160 , Demian Maia : The Morning News Roundup – 5.1 . 13FightLine.com all 7 news articles »

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Nick Diaz and Demian Maia are two of many contenders in the UFC’s welterweight division.

Diaz is coming off a decision loss to UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 158, and Maia is undefeated in the weight class with three straight wins.

This is not a fight that is signed, but would potentially be a marquee bout should it happen.

Diaz has talked about retiring unless he gets a rematch against GSP or a middleweight bout against Anderson Silva.

Those fights are unlikely to occur right now.

For Maia, this would be a fight that could make him the next challenger for the championship. Stylistically, it is an intriguing fight that many fight fans would love to see.

Let’s have a look at a breakdown for this potential welterweight clash.

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Looks like surging welterweight contender Demian Maia’s path to UFC gold will have to go through former title challenger Josh Koscheck. 

Brazilian media outlet NewsMMA broke the story, with LowKick.com being the first media outlet to provide an English translation.  

The report states that the bout will take place at UFC 163 on August 3, which is yet to have a location determined. 

The pay-per-view event will be headlined by a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and former WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis (via USA Today). 

Maia, a former middleweight title challenger, has taken the 170-pound division by storm since July of last year, winning three straight over Dong Hyun Kim, Rick Story and Jon Fitch. 

In Koscheck, a friend and former teammate of Fitch, he faces another decorated wrestler who challenged welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre for UFC gold a few years ago. However, Koscheck has fallen on hard times recently, going just 2-3 in his past five fights and has recently dropped two straight bouts to Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler, respectively. 

Maia, a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, means the road isn’t getting any easier for the former four-time All-American collegiate wrestler. 

The Brazilian has submitted accomplished wrestlers before in Story and Chael Sonnen, though he has shown he can be controlled on the mat to an extent in his fights with Chris Weidman and Mark Munoz.

Of course, both Weidman and Munoz are much bigger fighters than Koscheck.

Will the crafty guard and submissions savvy of Demian Maia be enough to make Koscheck tap, or will the American’s takedowns, top control and ground-and-pound be overwhelming in this pivotal welterweight matchup? 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.

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If Nick Diaz would consider coming out of retirement, Demian Maia would love to be the first to welcome him back to the Octagon.

Maia, who is 3-0 at welterweight, wants to continue working his way towards a UFC title shot, but there aren’t many top contenders currently available for him to fight.

Johny Hendricks, Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald are all scheduled for upcoming fights. The only plausible opponents for Maia at this point are Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit. When asked who he preferred as his next opponent, Maia’s manager, Eduardo Alonso, admitted it would be an honor to fight Diaz.

MMA journalist Ariel Helwani broke the news on Tuesday during an appearance on UFC Tonight:

I spoke to Eduardo Alonso last night, and they’re kind of anxious to get back in there, and more importantly, they want to know who they’ll be fighting next. I asked him, ‘Is there anyone out there that interests you?’ He said, ‘Well, we’re not really quite sure what Nick Diaz is thinking or if he’ll ever fight again, but for us, it would be an honor to fight Nick Diaz.’ They have a lot of respect for him, and they think that fight would generate a lot of buzz.

A potential bout between the two Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts would be highly anticipated.

Maia is by far the most accomplished jiu-jitsu artist in the welterweight division, but it would be nothing short of amazing to see him lock horns with Diaz on the ground.

Unfortunately, the bout may never come to fruition if Diaz keeps his word and remains retired. Diaz, who announced his retirement from MMA after losing to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158, is expected to hang up the gloves for good, unless he either receives a rematch or super fight with Anderson Silva.

During an appearance last month on The MMA Hour, Diaz‘s coach and manager, Cesar Gracie, stated that Diaz isn’t interested in fighting up-and-comers. He would like to see Diaz assume a similar role to MMA legends Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, who bounce around divisions taking whatever big fight is available.

A bout with Maia would certainly be a big fight for Diaz, but will it be enough to convince him to come out of retirement?

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If Nick Diaz would consider coming out of retirement, Demian Maia would love to be the first to welcome him back to the Octagon.

Maia, who is 3-0 at welterweight, wants to continue working his way towards a UFC title shot, but there aren’t many top contenders currently available for him to fight.

Johny Hendricks, Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald are all scheduled for upcoming fights. The only plausible opponents for Maia at this point are Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit. When asked who he preferred as his next opponent, Maia’s manager, Eduardo Alonso, admitted it would be an honor to fight Diaz.

MMA journalist Ariel Helwani broke the news on Tuesday during an appearance on UFC Tonight:

I spoke to Eduardo Alonso last night, and they’re kind of anxious to get back in there, and more importantly, they want to know who they’ll be fighting next. I asked him, ‘Is there anyone out there that interests you?’ He said, ‘Well, we’re not really quite sure what Nick Diaz is thinking or if he’ll ever fight again, but for us, it would be an honor to fight Nick Diaz.’ They have a lot of respect for him, and they think that fight would generate a lot of buzz.

A potential bout between the two Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts would be highly anticipated.

Maia is by far the most accomplished jiu-jitsu artist in the welterweight division, but it would be nothing short of amazing to see him lock horns with Diaz on the ground.

Unfortunately, the bout may never come to fruition if Diaz keeps his word and remains retired. Diaz, who announced his retirement from MMA after losing to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158, is expected to hang up the gloves for good, unless he either receives a rematch or super fight with Anderson Silva.

During an appearance last month on The MMA Hour, Diaz‘s coach and manager, Cesar Gracie, stated that Diaz isn’t interested in fighting up-and-comers. He would like to see Diaz assume a similar role to MMA legends Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, who bounce around divisions taking whatever big fight is available.

A bout with Maia would certainly be a big fight for Diaz, but will it be enough to convince him to come out of retirement?

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