Ryan LaFlare Ready To Emerge Against Demian Maia

No. 14-ranked UFC welterweight Ryan LaFlare is quickly headed for the biggest bout of his young MMA career when he faces off with touted No. 7 veteran Demian Maia in the main event of tomorrow night’s (Sat., March 21, 2015) UFC Fight Night 62 from the Macaranazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The talented Blackzilians team member stormed into the Octagon with three straight wins in 2013, but he’s since slowed down a bit, winning his only fight in 2014 with a hard-fought decision win over John Howard at UFC Fight Night 39 in Abu Dhabi.

In a recent interview with UFC correspondent Megan Olivi, LaFlare opened up about the ins and outs of taking on what is undoubtedly his toughest test in Maia:

LaFlare touched on his wide mix of international locales for his fights, noting that he is now used to preparing for a world-class bout in unfamiliar territory.

“I’m used to that by now. Three out of my four fights have been all over the place – Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Sweden; so I’m used to not being the favorite. Thank God it’s just me and Demian in the cage and not everybody else.”

He also gave respect to his famed team from South Florida, offering the belief that it’s the best gym in MMA.

“The Blackzilians, you know, I’m blessed to be with them, they’re definitely the best team around. Everybody helps each other; we really are a family.

LaFlare voiced his appreciation at getting a bout with a name fighter like Maia, but he also focused on building up his own name after four wins in four UFC bouts.

“Yeah absolutely. I’m blessed to be fighting someone like Demian, but at the same time, I’m undefeated, I’m 4-0 in the UFC, I’m putting on a fight every time, all my fights are exciting, I’m excited to finally let the world know about Ryan LaFlare.”

Finally, LaFlare joked a bit about his match-up with Maia by stating he had the better submission skills than BJJ world champion Maia. All jokes aside, however, he believes his ability to evade Maia’s constricting bag of tricks will earn him the win tomorrow night.

“I think I’m better an Jiu-jitsu than him…nah. Obviously he’s a world champion in Jiu-jitsu, he’s very good at Jiu-jitsu, and fortunately for me, it’s an MMA fight and not a Jiu-jitsu fight. And I’m still not taking that away from him, I know he knows how to use the Jiu-jitsu to win an MMA fight; he’s won a lot of fights by submission. I gotta be careful for that, and I think that my elusiveness is gonna be the recipe to beat him.”