UFC Fight Night 29 is filling up quickly as jiu-jitsu specialists Jake Shields and Demian Maia have verbally agreed to fight on Oct. 9 in Brazil, sources have told MMAFighting.com.
The unannounced event has no city or venue defined yet.
“From my understanding, that’s Jake’s next fight,” Cesar Gracie, Jake’s long-time jiu-jitsu coach, told MMAFighting.com on Monday.
The news of the fight was first reported on a recent episode of “UFC Tonight” on FUEL TV, however, no event details were reported on the show.
Former Shooto, Strikeforce and EliteXC champion, Shields last fought in July when he defeated Tyron Woodley by unanimous decision in his welterweight debut. It was his first fight since failing a post-fight drug test following his decision win over Ed Herman, which was overturned to a no-contest later.
Undefeated since dropping to 170 pounds, Maia aims to increase his win streak to four against Shields after dominant wins over the likes of Jon Fitch, Rick Story and Dong Hyun Kim. A jiu-jitsu specialist, Demian was expected to fight Josh Koscheck at UFC 163 before Koscheck was forced to leave the card citing an injury.
UFC Fight Night 29 will also feature Jeremy Stephens vs. Rony Jason and Erick Silva vs. Dong Hyun Kim.