“I’m fighting Demian Maia in Rio!”
That message was Tweeted (@Rick_Story) by UFC welterweight Rick ‘The Horror’ Story (14-5) on Tuesday evening, naming submission ace Demian Maia (16-4) as his next opponent.
According to Story, the two fighters will meet at UFC 153 which is expected to take place on October 13, 2012 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event has featherweight champ Jose Aldo defending his belt against Erik Koch in the main event.
Story won a decision over promotion newcomer Brock Jardine last month at the UFC on FX 4 event in New Jersey. The win was ‘The Horror’s’ first victory in three matches after suffering back-to-back losses. Story lost decisions to Martin Kampmann, at UFC 139, and to Charlie Brenneman at UFC on Versus 4. The loss to Brenneman ended a six fight win streak and put Story’s ranking as one of the top in the welterweight division on hold.
Maia earned a quick TKO victory over South Korean fighter Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 148 after Kim suffered an injury in the opening minute of their bout. The match was Maia’s debut at 170-lbs and put the Brazilian back into the win column after losing a decision to Chris Weidman at UFC on FX 2 last January. Maia will look to string two wins together versus Story, something he hasn’t done since 2010 when he earned wins over Kendall Grove and Mario Miranda.