PENICK: After extremely close UFC 131 bout, Demian Maia and Mark Munoz should rematch immediately

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Demian Maia and Mark Munoz fought for 15 minutes at UFC 131 in a great back and forth bout in Vancouver, but when the final buzzer went off, neither man had clearly established themselves as the victor.

Sure, the judges gave Munoz the immensely close third round, and the decision in the fight, but nothing was settled. In a middleweight division that still needs to line up some new challengers, this fight didn't prove that either of them were above the other on the ladder.

Because of how close the fight was, and with a number of fighters still trying to differentiate themselves in the division, this is one fight that should go to an immediate rematch.

FightMetric.com, the UFC's official stats provider, posted their report on the fight shortly after the event, and the numbers help paint the picture of just how close the final round was.

Total strikes in the round were 15-13 in favor of Munoz, and Munoz also landed two takedowns in the round. However, Maia put Munoz in a bad spot with a back crucifix position along with a neck crank. The FightMetric report scored the fight a draw with both fighters nearly even in their "effectiveness score" in the third round, and it simply showcases the arguments for either fighter in the round.

Regardless of the numbers, the point is the third round was so close that having these two just move on to the next opponent isn't the right move. It was an excellent fight, and seeing them go again for another three rounds would be very welcome.

With Michael Bisping lined up against Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Vitor Belfort set to meet Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Chael Sonnen still in purgatory until his license situation is settled, there is still a lot of time to have things come together in the division.

Neither Maia nor Munoz have a better potential opponent for one another than each other. Not with those other fights and fighters ahead of them on the ladder already matched up in fights. They didn't take a ton of damage in the fight, and could have continued on were they not restricted by a three round limit.

It would be a fantastic fight to see again. If either can pick up a more decisive win over the other they'd make a better case for putting themselves into the top end of the picture than Munoz did with this win. Another three rounds to settle the score for good is in order, and with nothing much else in the way of options available to them, the UFC should pit them against each other once more.

Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig