Silva vs Maia (TITLE)

Round 1 – Maia and Silva slowly circle to start the bout. Silva keeping his right arm out to keep Maia at a distance, then connects with a leg kick followed by a spinning back kick. Silva toys with Maia, dropping his hands and circling with odd movements. Silva drops Maia with a flying knee, but doesn’t follow him to the ground and instead stays standing and fires powerful kicks. MMAFrenzy.com scores the first for Silva 10-9.

Round 2 – Silva continues to play with Maia to begin the second, mocking him by dropping his hands while picking him apart with occasional strikes, including a powerful kick to the body. Maia goes to the canvas again and Silva looks to kick his hand before allowing him back up. Silva pushes Maia to the ground as he shoots for a takedown, but lets him get back up. Silva begs Maia to hit him, but Maia sticks with his gameplan and refuses to play into Silva’s game. Maia shoots again and Silva again shrugs it off and Maia returns to his feet. Silva connects with a leg kick and continues to taunt Maia to finish the round. MMAFrenzy.com scores the round for Silva 10-9, putting him up 20-18.

Round 3 – Maia connects early in the third, while Silva just stands back and takes whatever Maia wants to throw at him. Silva starts to circle again but neither fighter is offering much midway through the round. Maia closes in, but Silva avoids and picks away with punches. Maia falls to the canvas but Silva again refuses to follow, and Maia stands up. Maia continues to throw punches, but fails to connect, while Silva lands occasionally while continuing to play with Maia. MMAFrenzy.com scores the third for Silva 10-9, moving him up to 30-27.

Round 4 – More of the same to start the fourth, as Maia continues to look for an opening but Silva shuts him down at every turn while remaining tentative on his feet and throwing little in return. Crowd breaks into “Maia, Maia” chants as Silva has left few impressed with his showboating, no matter how dominant he’s been. Silva connects with a few punches and kicks in a round almost completely devoid of action. MMAFrenzy.com scores another round for Silva 10-9, and he’s now up 40-36.

Between round, Joe Rogan says UFC President Dana White spoke to Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, and looked “very angry”.

Round 5 – Maia’s left eye is almost completely closed from a likely broken nose, providing Silva yet another opening to secure a finish. Maia shoots for a takedown to start the final round and remains active on his feet, battering Silva with punches and a knee. Maia continues to connect after a brief break, even throwing punches that land from his feet. After returning to his feet, the fight settles back into its previous pace before Maia eventually gets a hold of Silva but is unable to get him to the ground. Maia continues to pressure but is just unable to find his mark. After another lull, the fight is halted and Silva is warned for refusing to fight. Neither fighter connects with anything significant before the final bell sounds. MMAFrenzy.com scores the round for Maia 10-9, but Silva will easily get the nod in an extremely disappointing headliner.

Anderson Silva (c) def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision to retain the UFC middleweight title