Demian Maia says he’ll likely retire after fighting out current UFC contract
Former multiple weight class title challenger Demian Maia’s UFC career appears to be heading towards the end. Maia announced on Monday during his interview with The MMA Hour that he will fight the remainder of his UFC contract and then he will likely retire once the contract is up.
Maia, who is stepping in on short-notice to take on Kamaru Usman this Saturday at UFC Chile, has four fights left on his deal including this weekend’s. Maia told The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani that he doesn’t see himself fighting after 2019, and that he sees this contract as his final one.
Maia who once challenged Anderson Silva for the middleweight championship at UFC 112 also recently challenged Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title back at UFC 214, yet came up short in both title opportunities. In his UFC career Maia has gone 19-8 yet unable to win the big title at either middleweight or welterweight.
After losing to Chris Weidman at UFC on FOX 2, Maia dropped down to welterweight where he earned a TKO victory against Dong Hyun Kim.
Maia has dropped his last two fights in the UFC, a decision loss to the champion Tyron Woodley, and most recently a loss to the outspoken Colby Covington. Throughout the course of his professional MMA career, Maia holds a 25-8 record.
While another future title shot is unlikely for Maia, he has the chance to score a huge upset over Kamaru Usman on Saturday, who he’ll face on short-notice after Santiago Ponzinnibbio had to withdraw from the fight due to an injury.
Maia vs Usman will main event UFC Fight Night 129 with the main card starting at 10pm EST on Fox Sports 1 this Saturday.
