Submission magician Demian Maia delivers virtuoso performance at UFC Vancouver
Brazilian jiu jitsu ace needs less than two minutes to submit former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit in Canada
DEMIAN Maia's push for a shot at the UFC welterweight title gathered some serious momentum in Vancouver on Saturday night when he submitted Carlos Condit in under two minutes at UFC on FOX 21.
Maia is widely considered the best pure grappler in any weight class in the UFC, and the Brazilian showed exactly why, taking former interim welterweight champion Condit to the mat and locking up a rear-naked choke to finish the gritty Albuquerque native in quickfire fashion in the night's main event.
And a very emotional Maia was in floods of tears as he was declared the winner following arguably the most significant victory of his UFC career.
The co-main event saw former UFC lightweight champion Anthony 'Showtime' Pettis return to winning ways as he dropped down to the UFC's 145lb featherweight division and submitted dangerous contender Charles Oliveira.
Pettis dominated the opening round, nearly scoring a TKO finish late in the frame, before Oliveira used his grappling to come back into the bout in the second.
But ultimately it was Pettis' jiu jitsu skills that proved decisive, as he locked up a guillotine choke on the
Pettis and Oliveira battled back and forth in a keenly-contested bout for two and a half rounds, and with the fight moving into the final stages it was 'Showtime' who found the decisive winning move.
With Oliveira looking to secure another takedown, Pettis locked up a guillotine choke and squeezed tight to force the Brazilian to tap out and give the former lightweight champ a debut win as a featherweight.
Now the Milwaukee native has his sights set on becoming only the fourth man to win UFC championships in two weight classes as he looks to move into title contention at 145lbs.
And another returning star, women's strawweight prospect '12 Gauge' Paige VanZant, produced a spectacular finish to stop gritty Australian Bec Rawlings in their main card bout.
VanZant had taken some time away from the UFC to be a part of Dancing With The Stars, the US equivalant of Strictly Come Dancing.
And while she finished as the competition's runner-up on the dancefloor, VanZant ran out the winner on the canvas of the Octagon with an eye-catching TKO victory.
VanZant stunned Rawlings with a spectacular 'Karate Kid-style' flying switch kick that stunned Rawlings, then followed up with a flurry of hammerfists to force referee Dan Miragliotta to call an end to the contest almost immediately after the restart for the second round.
