Demian Maia said he’s always felt another title opportunity would arrive.
Maia will challenge Tyron Woodley for his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title this Saturday night (July 29). The two are set to do battle inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California in the co-main event of UFC 214.
Speaking to the media, Maia said that while the road to a welterweight title shot was tough, he never lost hope:
“I always believed that I would get the second (title shot), but of course I was very frustrated. What I learned with experience and the years with the UFC is that I cannot let this frustration take my soul and control me. It’s easy to say, hard to do but lately in the last (few) years I was able to control the frustration and just keep going.”
The challenger would go on to say that Woodley has proven he’s a dangerous champion.
“I think he’s as good as all those guys like Carlos Condit and (Jorge) Masvidal, Jake Shields. He’s pretty good, there’s a reason he’s the champion like I said before. I really don’t know how we’re gonna match up our styles on Saturday. Maybe it’ll be a surprise for me, surprise for him.”
