Covington outstrikes Maia for 5th straight victory at UFC Sao Paulo

It was far from pretty, but Colby Covington walked the walk Saturday.

The surging welterweight rode volume striking and stout takedown defense to a unanimous decision over Demian Maia in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 119 in Maia's native Sao Paulo on Saturday.

Covington - who'd gladly played the role of the heel ahead of his trip to Maia's hometown - cut a bold promo immediately after getting his hand raised for the fifth straight time, calling his Brazilian hosts "filthy animals" and bellowing a callout to reigning divisional champ Tyron Woodley before storming out of the cage in front of a hostile crowd.

It looked like Covington would be eating his words after a first round that raised no shortage of eyebrows, as Maia promptly took the reins not with his first-rate grappling, but with his striking - easily the least refined wrinkle in his game. The Brazilian's left hand was hitting pay dirt before long - much to his fellow locals' delight - while Covington returned fire and scored points with low kicks.

The frenetic pace Maia and Covington set in the first soon did a number on the Brazilian, whose gas tank was just about spent heading into the second, allowing Covington to let his hands fly and pull ahead on the scorecards. The boisterous American's striking was far from crisp, but it was enough to have an exhausted Maia desperately shooting for ill-fated takedowns and leaking crimson en route to the lopsided verdict.

After mounting a seven-fight win streak that earned him a shot at Woodley's crown at UFC 214, this past July, the 39-year-old Maia now finds himself on a two-fight skid and still one win shy of tying the promotion's win record of 20. He hasn't completed a takedown in a whopping 33 attempts over the slump.