No UFC official has publicly stated the winner of Saturday’s bout between Carlos Condit and Demian Maia will receive the next welterweight title shot.
Unless, that is, you count Demian Maia as an official.
He probably—well, actually—doesn’t count as an official, but Maia believes a win over Condit in the main event of UFC on Fox 21 will earn him a shot at UFC welterweight gold.
“This is for a title shot—the ticket for a title shot,” Maia told Bleacher Report in an interview. “It’s a fight between two guys; one is a former champ, and the other has five wins in a row.”
The former champ is Condit (30-9), the wildly popular and entertaining fighter who wore the interim strap in 2012—and came within a half-round of donning the belt again after a January thriller with Robbie Lawler. He’s the razor-sharp finisher who has knocked out 15 opponents and gone the distance exactly two times in all his professional wins.
“The other” is Maia. The former jiu-jitsu world champ and eight-year UFC veteran (23-6) has, at age 38, done nothing less than resurrect his career after dropping down from middleweight in 2012. He has 11 wins by submission.
So if this is one of those blue-plate striker-grappler specials, it’s easy to tell which side Maia’s on.
“I think you know we’re going to grapple,” Maia said. “We’re going to the ground. He’s good there, but hopefully I’m able to impose my game.”
Despite the bona fides of both men—to top it off, Maia is ranked third and Condit fourth on the official UFC rankings—no title shot is assured for either man in the event of a win. Part of that stems from the fact Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson appears to be next in line to face current champ Tyron Woodley, according to comments from UFC President Dana White.
The potential return of Georges St-Pierre, according to Big Brand Boys (via Andy Ravens of LowKickMMA.com), and the role of Lawler, who lost to Woodley in July, further muddy the waters.
But even if Thompson-Woodley becomes official, that doesn’t necessarily preclude the Condit-Maia winner from receiving the next shot.
So why are these two greats on the outside, at least for the moment? When it comes to Maia, there’s a descriptor his fighting style has been labeled with; it rhymes with “schmoring.” Maia has a ready response to the charge.
“I’m a fighter who is mainly a grappler, but I have a different style than other grapplers,” Maia said. “I think my mindset is different. The new techniques are just evolving, and I look for that. I’m not just a jiu-jitsu player for jiu-jitsu, but for MMA.”
What’s more, Maia’s gentlemanly demeanor, while admired, is not the sort that beckons patrons into the tent. Maia has an answer for that, too.
“I think true fans look for people who inspire them—not just inspire them like with [silly] stuff but truly inspire them. It’s what they’re looking for when they’re watching sports,” Maia said. “It’s not just to beat somebody or make money, which was not even possible at the time I [started].”
There’s just one more problem for Maia as it relates to reaching that title shot. In July, his bout with Condit moved to the UFC on Fox 21 main event from last week’s UFC 202. That changed not only the date but the rounds, bumping them up from three to five. That’s more potential cage time and, by extension, more potential cardio. That’s not a specialty Maia has typically been known to have.
Still, Maia says he’s ready, and it’s not shaking his conviction in himself or the meaning of a win on Saturday.
“Training camp changed a little bit,” he said of his adjustments after the change in fight date. “Follow-up after rounds, and duration of rounds, making me more prepared.
“I don’t respond [to detractors]. I just go out there and do my job. If I win this, that’s the best response.”
Scott Harris covers MMA for Bleacher Report and is available on Twitter. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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