In those fights in the WEC, Sonnen (21-9-1) ended Bryan Baker's eight fight and Paulo Filho's sixteen fight win streak. Sonnen acknowledges that there's an added element when facing an undefeated fighter.
"An undefeated guy will go out and try more things," Sonnen says. "A lot of times when you're undefeated, you don't believe you can get defeated and of course I'm talking about myself when I was in that spot at one point. I think you're a little better when you're undefeated. I enjoyed that confidence and feeling invincible."
Maia is 9-0 with four Octagon wins, including three over Sonnen's Team Quest teammates Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman and Nate Quarry.
"I've helped all three of those guys get ready for him, unsuccessfuly," Sonnen said. "We've had our eye on him for a while. That could be a little bit of an advantage but he's a tricky guy. He's very unique and he's the best at what he does that I've seen."
Sonnen opened his own career with five wins before losing to former UFC competitor Trevor Prangley via submission.
"It always makes me envious, I've always wished I had a spotless record," Sonnen says. "I've got nine defeats, but I dispute every one of those except for one. One time I got beat up. So I'm hoping to keep that at nine and add one to the win column."Get the latest gear
