Maya Modeling :: UV Mapping When Importing OBJ From Blender

I am trying to UV-map a mesh by doing the following:

1) Panels > Saved Layouts > Persp/UV Texture Editor
2) Select object, RMB > Assign new material > Lambert
3) Attributes Editor > Common Material Attributes > Color > Map button > Checkered

When I do this with a default Maya sphere, it works just fine.

However when I attempt this with a mesh that I have imported from Blender, it no longer works (it turns white instead of checkered textured).