Demian Maia is the underdog against Chris Weidman?

I feel a bit badly for Demian Maia. While Chael Sonnen is carrying around a fake UFC belt and preparing to face Michael Bisping at Saturday’s UFC on Fox card, with the winner slated for a title shot, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace has seen his contender status take a bit of a nosedive as a result.

Originally scheduled to fight Bisping on the card, a bout that would definitely move the winner into the number two slot for a crack at champ Anderson Silva, Maia has to settle for late replacement Chris Weidman. While Weidman is no slouch — he’s a two-time NCAA division I All-American wrestler, an ADCC competitor and owner of a three-fight win streak in the UFC — beating him won’t do much to move Maia toward the belt. And a loss means he’ll probably never get another crack at it.

Still, I have to believe Maia will walk over Weidman, who admitted at Thursday’s press conference that being a late replacement for Bisping means he’s not 100 percent ready. Maia also has infinitely superior jiu-jitsu skills, continually improving striking and he’s been in tougher battles with tougher opponents. So I have no idea why odds makers have Maia as the underdog.