Demian Maia has been in exceptional form in the UFC’s welterweight division and is many observers’ prime candidate for Tyron Woodley’s next title defence.
Maia is ranked #3 on the UFC’s official list of welterweights and has been knocking on the door for a shot at the belt for a long time. The 39-year-old Brazilian is riding a six-fight winning streak into his next bout with Masvidal on “the card of the year” at UFC 211. With so much talk of a potential showdown with Woodley, Maia remains focused on his next task at hand. With a loss against Jorge Masvidal, the chances are that the Sao Paolo, Brazil native will fall down the pecking order of contenders, so is not looking past the dangerous “Gamebreed”.
Speaking with MMA Fighting following UFC Fight Night in Fortaleza, Brazil, Demian Maia took the time to jovially address the reporter’s suggestion that the Masvidal fight should be cancelled. The BJJ maestro quickly caught focus, however, and confirmed his understanding of what exactly is at stake at UFC 211:
“Yeah, they could [cancel the fight with Masvidal and give Maia a title shot]. Maybe you could talk to them for me, it would be great. It is what it is and I need to fight,” said maia.
“I will be focused, I will be training and will be looking [forward] to this fight with Jorge Masvidal, and I know it will be a tough fight. I cannot think about the title right now; I don’t know if I’m going to win or not, so i need to first be ready for this fight.”
