Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The First Fight Night in Rio de Janeiro
3. Quick Stats
4. Main Event: Maia’s Grappling Clinic
5. Future Champions & The Dober Controversy
6. Full Results
7. Bonuses & Awards
8. Records & Milestones
9. Legacy & Impact
10. FAQ
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 62: Maia vs. LaFlare took place on Saturday, March 21, 2015 at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 617,000 average viewers (767k peak), attended by 7,707 fans. It was the first Fight Night the UFC had hosted in Rio de Janeiro. Previous UFC events in the city had been pay-per-view events at the HSBC Arena or the Maracanãzinho; Fight Night 62 was the first time the city received a FS1 card. Brazilians went 10-1 on the night.
Demian Maia’s grappling clinic against Ryan LaFlare dominated the main event for four rounds before Maia visibly gassed in round five, allowing LaFlare to briefly stage a comeback and earning a late point deduction. The unanimous decision was clear regardless. Erick Silva guillotined Josh Koscheck for his fifth consecutive loss in the co-main. The card’s deepest historical significance lies in its preliminary fights: Amanda Nunes TKO’d Shayna Baszler in under two minutes in the earliest indication of what would become a double-championship UFC career. Gilbert Burns submitted Alex Oliveira in a dramatic third-round comeback to earn Performance of the Night.
A controversial stoppage in the Leandro Silva vs. Drew Dober fight — halted by referee Eduardo Herdy while Dober appeared to be escaping — generated significant post-event coverage and led Dana White to award Dober both his show and win money despite the recorded loss.
The First Fight Night in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro had hosted some of the UFC’s most significant Brazilian events at PPV level — UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami in August 2011 drew over 14,000 fans to the HSBC Arena. The Maracanãzinho had hosted several events including UFC 179: Aldo vs. Mendes 2 in October 2014. But Fight Night 62 was the city’s first FS1 broadcast card — a different kind of event commercially: a free-to-cable audience rather than a PPV audience, with a card constructed around domestic Brazilian talent rather than exclusively elite international matchups.
The original main event — Urijah Faber vs. Raphael Assunção in a bantamweight rematch — was cancelled when Assunção withdrew with an ankle injury he had sustained in December 2014. Both fighters were removed, and Demian Maia vs. Ryan LaFlare at welterweight was promoted from the co-main. The card retained its Brazilian-market focus: Maia fighting at home, Erick Silva, Francisco Trinaldo, Gilbert Burns, and Godofredo Pepey all competing. Brazilians won 10 of 11 fights, a home performance that contrasted sharply with Porto Alegre a month earlier.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, March 21, 2015
📍 Venue: Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (FIRST UFC Fight Night in Rio de Janeiro)
👥 Attendance: 7,707
📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 617,000 avg. viewers (767k peak, 280k FS2 prelims)
🏆 Main Event: Demian Maia vs. Ryan LaFlare — Welterweight (5 rounds; LaFlare entered 11-0; promoted from co-main after Assunção withdrawal)
✅ Result: Maia def. LaFlare via Unanimous Decision (48-46x3, including point deduction for flopping) — LaFlare’s undefeated record ended
Main Event: Maia’s Grappling Clinic
Ryan LaFlare arrived in Rio de Janeiro undefeated in 11 professional fights, including four UFC wins, with a resume that included strong performances against Tim Means and Carlos Condit-training partner Alex Mack. His wrestling base had been his primary tool and he had called out Maia specifically, confident his grappling could compete. The fight told a different story entirely from round one.
Maia took LaFlare down at will from the opening exchanges and spent 12 minutes and 49 seconds in top control through the first four rounds. His passing was clean, his mount transitions were fluid, and his attempts at the arm-triangle nearly produced taps on multiple occasions. LaFlare showed genuine heart — he defended submissions competently and kept working — but had no answer for Maia’s grappling quality. In round five, Maia visibly gassed. LaFlare came on with strikes and takedown attempts, pushing hard enough that the crowd began to react. In the final seconds, referee John McCarthy deducted a point from Maia for flopping to his back to avoid the exchange. It did not change the outcome: 48-46 on all three scorecards.
The fight was a technical display of elite welterweight grappling but not a fan-pleasing performance — commentators and media observers were divided between admiration for Maia’s BJJ application and frustration at the pace. Maia’s post-fight exhaustion in round five cast doubt on whether he could maintain that output against a stronger or more dynamic welterweight. The fight nonetheless moved him up the welterweight rankings and deeper into contendership discussions.
Future Champions & The Dober Controversy
Amanda Nunes’ TKO of Shayna Baszler at 1:56 of round one was the most significant performance on the card in retrospect. In March 2015, Nunes was a mid-ranked UFC bantamweight with potential but no championship pedigree. Baszler, the MMA and wrestling veteran, was on a losing streak. The R1 TKO was clean but not unusual-looking at the time. In 2016, Nunes would knock out Miesha Tate in round one for the UFC bantamweight title, then defeat Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds. She went on to win the featherweight title as well, becoming the first double UFC women’s champion. The Rio TKO of Baszler was one of the earliest UFC examples of the ruthless finishing efficiency that would define her championship run.
Gilbert Burns’ third-round submission of Alex Oliveira was a career-defining performance in its drama. Burns had been outclassed on the feet for the first two rounds and appeared likely to lose. In round three, he closed the distance, took Oliveira down, passed to mount, and locked in an armbar with 45 seconds remaining in the fight. The submission was impeccable and earned Performance of the Night. Burns — a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion before signing with the UFC — showed that his submission game remained elite even when he was behind on the feet. He eventually became a top-five UFC welterweight and fought Kamaru Usman for the title at UFC 258 in February 2021.
The Leandro Silva vs. Drew Dober fight produced the night’s most controversial moment: referee Eduardo Herdy stopped the fight while Dober was in the process of escaping Silva’s guillotine choke attempt. The footage showed Dober’s posture improving and his hands working to relieve the pressure as Herdy intervened. Even the Brazilian fans in the arena were surprised by the stoppage. Dana White reviewed the footage and awarded Dober both his show money and win money — an unusual outcome where the official result (Leandro Silva win by submission) stood but the financial compensation reflected the UFC’s acknowledgement that the stoppage was premature.
Full Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Demian Maia def. Ryan LaFlare — Unanimous Decision (48-46x3) — Welterweight (LaFlare’s undefeated record ended; Maia 12min49s top control in 4 rounds; point deduction in R5 for flopping)
Erick Silva def. Josh Koscheck — Submission (guillotine) — R1, 4:21 — Welterweight (Koscheck’s 5th consecutive loss; likely effective end of his UFC career)
Leonardo Santos def. Tony Martin — Submission (RNC) — R2, 2:29 — Lightweight
Amanda Nunes def. Shayna Baszler — TKO (strikes) — R1, 1:56 — Women’s Bantamweight (Nunes’ early UFC career; future double UFC women’s champion)
Gilbert Burns def. Alex Oliveira — Submission (armbar) — R3, 4:14 — Lightweight (PoN $50k; dramatic comeback after losing 2 rounds; future UFC WW title challenger)
Godofredo 'Pepey' Castro def. Andre Fili — Submission (triangle choke) — R1, 3:14 — Featherweight (PoN $50k; Pepey’s 3rd straight UFC win, all finishes)
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 2)
Francisco Trinaldo def. Akbarh Arreola — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — Lightweight (Trinaldo dominated on grappling)
Edimilson (Kevin) Souza def. Katsunori Kikuno — KO (punch) — R1, 1:31 — Featherweight (PoN $50k)
Leandro Silva def. Drew Dober — Technical Submission (guillotine) — R2, 2:45 — Lightweight (CONTROVERSIAL early stoppage; Dana White awarded Dober both show and win money despite the recorded loss)
Fredy Serrano def. Bentley Syler — KO (punch) — Flyweight (PoN $50k)
Leonardo Mafra def. Cain Carrizosa — Unanimous Decision — Lightweight
Christos Giagos def. Jorge de Oliveira — Submission (RNC) — R1, 3:12 — Lightweight
Bonuses & Awards
Note: No Fight of the Night was awarded — all four bonuses were Performance of the Night.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Gilbert Burns, Godofredo Pepey, Edimilson (Kevin) Souza, Fredy Serrano — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• First UFC Fight Night ever held in Rio de Janeiro — bringing an FS1-broadcast card to the city for the first time.
• Amanda Nunes’ TKO of Baszler — one of the earliest demonstrations of the finishing efficiency that made her a double UFC champion.
• Josh Koscheck’s 5th consecutive loss — ending one of the UFC’s most significant early-era careers in a sequence of defeats.
• The Dober stoppage was one of few instances in UFC history where Dana White directly compensated a fighter’s disputed loss with win money.
Legacy & Impact
Maia’s Fight Night 62 win over LaFlare continued his methodical welterweight climb. He went on to challenge Tyron Woodley for the UFC WW title at UFC 214 in July 2017, losing by decision in a fight many observers considered close. His grappling dominance at welterweight — demonstrated in its purest form against LaFlare in Rio — made him one of the division’s most technically threatening fighters through 2019. The Rio card’s main event was a difficult watch but a high-quality jiu-jitsu demonstration.
Amanda Nunes’ Rio TKO is among the most historically significant prelim performances on any 2015 Fight Night card in retrospect. By 2020, she was universally considered one of the greatest UFC fighters in history — the first person to hold UFC titles in two women’s weight classes simultaneously. Gilbert Burns’ dramatic comeback sub over Oliveira foreshadowed the submission instinct and mental toughness that took him to a welterweight title fight in 2021. The Rio card’s legacy belongs almost entirely to its prelim section rather than its main event.
FAQ
What was so controversial about the Dober stoppage?
Leandro Silva had a guillotine choke applied on Drew Dober in round two. As the choke progressed, Dober’s posture appeared to be improving — he was getting his head free of the full compression and his hands were actively working to create space. Referee Eduardo Herdy intervened and stopped the fight, ruling it a technical submission. Footage showed Dober escaping, not submitting. Even the Brazilian crowd in the Maracanãzinho reacted with confusion. Dana White watched the footage at the post-fight press conference and immediately declared he would compensate Dober with win money in addition to his show money, even though the official record could not be changed. The stoppage became a reference case in discussions about referee training standards at Brazilian Fight Night events.
How did Amanda Nunes look in her 2015 form versus her championship-era form?
In March 2015, Nunes was a mid-level UFC bantamweight. She had losses on her record (a split decision loss to Sarah Kaufman in 2014) and had not demonstrated the elite finishing efficiency that would later define her. The Baszler TKO — clean and decisive in 1:56 — showed her power and aggression but was against an opponent on a losing streak. Her championship trajectory became clear in 2016 when she KO’d Miesha Tate in round one and then defeated Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds. Looking back, the Rio TKO had the signature characteristics: fast start, relentless pressure, early finish — but in 2015, it was hard to distinguish from many other UFC women’s prelim victories.
Why was Josh Koscheck’s 5th consecutive loss significant?
Koscheck had been one of the UFC’s most successful and polarising welterweights for a decade. A TUF 1 veteran, he had challenged Georges St-Pierre for the title twice, went 18-3 in a golden period, and was a legitimate top-five welterweight through 2011. His loss run from 2012 to 2015 — Hendricks, Ellenberger, Woodley, Robbie Lawler, Silva — reflected the rapid development of elite welterweight competition during the period. He was being finished in fights that earlier versions of him might have won. By March 2015, the Erick Silva guillotine was his fifth straight loss and fourth in which he was stopped. Commentators called for his retirement publicly. He was released by the UFC shortly after.
How did Demian Maia’s welterweight run develop after the LaFlare win?
Maia’s welterweight run after Rio was remarkable: he won five consecutive fights from mid-2015 through 2017 against Jorge Masvidal, Gunnar Nelson, Carlos Condit, Rick Story, and Matt Brown. The winning streak earned him a UFC welterweight title shot against Tyron Woodley at UFC 214 in July 2017. He lost by unanimous decision in a fight where Woodley’s takedown defense neutralised his grappling. But the quality of the contender run — producing grappling-dominant wins against top-fifteen welterweights — was built on the foundation of the Rio technical performance against LaFlare.
What was Ryan LaFlare’s career after his undefeated record ended?
LaFlare had built his 11-0 record largely through regional competition before a solid UFC run. The Maia loss ended his unbeaten streak and exposed the ceiling of his grappling game: he was competent but could not match elite-level BJJ. He went 1-3 in subsequent UFC appearances before being released. His one post-Maia win was a decision victory over Erick Silva in July 2016. His UFC career never recovered the trajectory that the 11-0 record had suggested; the Rio loss against Maia’s world-class submission game was a realistic ceiling test that he did not pass.
How did Gilbert Burns develop after his Rio comeback win?
Burns’ dramatic armbar of Oliveira after two rounds of losing was a career-altering performance in terms of UFC management perception. It demonstrated that his ground game was elite even when the rest of his game was struggling. He moved to welterweight in 2019, put together a five-fight win streak that included a submission of Tyron Woodley, and earned a UFC welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 in February 2021 — losing in round three after threatening with an early knockdown of Usman. He remained a top-five welterweight through 2023. The Rio PoN was the beginning of that arc.