Tag: Demian Maia

Demian Maia & Belal Muhammad Agree To Fight At UFC 263 On June 12

Belal Muhammad won’t get the opponent he wanted, but he will still have an opportunity to break into the top 10 of the welterweight division when he takes on Demian Maia at UFC 263. According to an ESPN report, Maia and Muhammad have verbally agreed to…

Belal Muhammad won’t get the opponent he wanted, but he will still have an opportunity to break into the top 10 of the welterweight division when he takes on Demian Maia at UFC 263. According to an ESPN report, Maia and Muhammad have verbally agreed to fight at the UFC 263 event to be held […]

Demian Maia vs. Belal Muhammad Set For UFC 263.

Demian MaiaBelal Muhammad will be happy despite not securing the rematch he wanted with Leon Edwards. According to reports Muhammad will instead square off against Demian Maia at UFC 263 on June 12. Brett Okamoto of ESPN first broke the news on social media, he wrote. Per sources, Demian Maia (@demianmaia) vs. Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) agreed […]

Demian Maia

Belal Muhammad will be happy despite not securing the rematch he wanted with Leon Edwards.

According to reports Muhammad will instead square off against Demian Maia at UFC 263 on June 12.

Brett Okamoto of ESPN first broke the news on social media, he wrote.

Per sources, Demian Maia (@demianmaia) vs. Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) agreed to for UFC 263 on June 12.

Muhammad stepped in to replace Chimaev on March 13 at UFC Vegas 21.

Edwards started well and clearly won round one. The fight was over in round two due to an inadvertent eye poke on Muhammad.

Post-fight, Muhammad and many fans called for a rematch.

Edwards was reluctant and has since been booked to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 262.

Muhammad is ranked #13 rank at 170-pounds and was riding a four-fight win streak into his fight with Edwards.

He last beat via Dhiego Lima via decision at UFC 258.

When a fight with ‘Rocky’ seemed to be unlikely, Muhammad called for a bout with BJJ legend Demian Maia instead.

“Obviously I want a big fight,” Muhammad said. “I feel like I still earned a main event spot just being willing to take a fight on three weeks’ notice. A guy I feel like would be a good main event spot with me is Demian Maia. He’s top 10 and I feel like I deserve somebody top 10 coming off four wins in a row, so I think that fight makes sense. I haven’t gone against a real grappler in the UFC yet, so fighting a grappler, it excites me. I wanna just show that side of me and to fight a legend like Demian Maia would be cool.”

The UFC matchmakers where clearly listening as he’s now been booked against the Brazilian.

Maia is on the tail end of his career but still remains more than a match for anyone at welterweight.

Maia hasn’t fought since losing to Gilbert Burns in March 2020.

The loss snapped a three-fight winning streak which included an impressive submission of Ben Askren.

Who do you think wins at UFC 263? Demian Maia or Belal Muhammad?

Garbrandt vs. Figueiredo, Shevchenko vs. Maia Announced for UFC 255 Card

UFC has set up a double-main event for its Nov. 21 pay-per-view. Per UFC President Dana White (h/t ESPN’s Brett Okamoto ), Deiveson Figueiredo will defend the flyweight championship …

UFC has set up a double-main event for its Nov. 21 pay-per-view. Per UFC President Dana White (h/t ESPN’s Brett Okamoto ), Deiveson Figueiredo will defend the flyweight championship …

Khamzat Chimaev Calls Out McGregor, Danis & Maia

Khamzat ChimaevKhamzat Chimaev is the UFC’s newest big star, as he’s gone 2-0 in just ten days since making his debut back at UFC Fight Island I. He absolutely mauled John Phillips in his promotional debut, out-striking his 124-2 in total strikes, and securing the D’Arce choke finish in round two. Ten days later, at UFC […]

Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev is the UFC’s newest big star, as he’s gone 2-0 in just ten days since making his debut back at UFC Fight Island I. He absolutely mauled John Phillips in his promotional debut, out-striking his 124-2 in total strikes, and securing the D’Arce choke finish in round two. Ten days later, at UFC Fight Island III, he went down to his natural weight class of 170 lbs and TKO’d Rhys McKee in round one, out-striking him 68-0 in total strikes. Chimaev’s one of the most dominant fighters in the entire sport already, and he’s only 8-0 as a professional.

Following his win over McKee, at the post-fight press conference, he was asked if Donald Cerrone was still a fight he wanted. He has the following to say on this matchup:

“Yeah (he has a) good name, but I know this guy’s not (on my) level. I’m going to smash him for one (or) two rounds. I’m gonna beat him easy, easy money for me, but he have good name, I’m only two fights in the UFC.”

Conor McGregor also took to social media following Chimaev’s win over McKee, the picture is a snapshot from Chimaev’s phone. McGregor later deleted the post:

Chimaev responded to ‘The Notorious’ with this statement:

Dillon Danis also took to social media to say something about Chimaev, though he’s in Bellator. Too bad the UFC won’t do cross promotion fights, because this would be very interesting to see. Danis might only be 2-0 at this point in his career, but he’s one of the best grapplers in the sport, as Chimaev also appears to be, and they only have a combined total of ten fights.

Chimaev also called out Demain Maia following his win on Saturday, stating that he respects him and sees him as a legend, stating ‘sorry, you’re next…. let’s see who have better grappling…’. Maia is one fight away from retirement, but this would be an interesting match up. Anybody versus Chimaev right now is an interesting match up, he’s so dominant and dangerous already. He stated he wants to become a two-weight world champion, welterweight and middleweight, and he thinks he’ll be fighting for the title in one or two years.

He also said he’d like to compete again at UFC 252 on August 15, and Dana White said he’d make it happen. How crazy would that be, to go from 6-0 to 9-0 in exactly, to the day, one months time? Making his UFC debut and going 3-0 inside of a month would be insane, he already broke a record for two fights, and two wins in ten days. Hopefully, they can make it happen and we get to see him again, he’s incredibly entertaining to watch. He really is just like a lankier version of UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. 

What would you like to see be next for Khamzat Chimaev?

Khamzat Chimaev Calls Out Michael Chiesa, Demian Maia

ChimaevKhamzat Chimaev not only wants to stay active — he is now targeting the bigger names. Chimaev is enjoying a meteoric rise with the UFC following two dominant wins in the space of 10 days with wins over John Phillips and most recently, Rhys McKee last night at UFC Fight Island 3. The 26-year-old is […]

Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev not only wants to stay active — he is now targeting the bigger names.

Chimaev is enjoying a meteoric rise with the UFC following two dominant wins in the space of 10 days with wins over John Phillips and most recently, Rhys McKee last night at UFC Fight Island 3.

The 26-year-old is not stopping there, as it was later revealed that he wanted to compete again at UFC 252 which takes place August 15 with Dana White even ready to make it happen.

Chimaev Targeting Bigger Names

If that is the case, the question would then turn to whom he should face next.

Given that he only made his UFC debut earlier this month, it would make sense to gradually build him up in the welterweight division.

But given how dominant he has been so far as well, many wouldn’t complain if he faced a more established name. Chimaev is going a step further as he called out former title challenger Demian Maia to see who had the superior grappling.

“@demianmaia you a legend I respect you but sorry you’re next… let’s see who have better grappling…”

While a fight with Maia would be for competitive reasons, a fight with someone like Michael Chiesa would be to fast-track himself into the top 10 of the rankings as Chimaev sent a tweet out to him as well.

It is unlikely that Chiesa — currently ranked No. 8 — would accept at the moment, though he did respond to a fan claiming he would never accept the fight.

Who do you want to see Chimaev face next?

Demian Maia Open To Two More Fights To Break Donald Cerrone’s UFC Win Record

MaiaDemian Maia is considering adding one more fight to his current UFC deal. Following his loss to Gilbert Burns last month, Maia admitted that the last remaining fight on his UFC deal would be the final one of his career. He even had two opponents in mind for his retirement fight in Donald Cerrone and […]

Maia

Demian Maia is considering adding one more fight to his current UFC deal.

Following his loss to Gilbert Burns last month, Maia admitted that the last remaining fight on his UFC deal would be the final one of his career. He even had two opponents in mind for his retirement fight in Donald Cerrone and Diego Sanchez, having just recently called for a fight with the latter earlier this week.

But now, the Brazilian is having a change of heart.

“My desire is to maybe do this next fight and one more,” Maia said in a recent interview (via MMA Fighting). “But if (my next) is the last one, no problem at all. I’m really okay with it. I think I’ve fulfilled my role and I’m happy with what I’ve done all these years.”

So why does Maia want one more fight on top of his last remaining one? It would allow him to break Cerrone’s record of most UFC wins.

“Maybe become the fighter with most wins,” Maia said when asked what would motivate him to sign a new UFC deal. “I’m one win behind Cerrone, so I know that I’ll tie him if I win one more, but if I win two I can surpass him. That would be something that makes me think about this possibility.”

“Cowboy” currently has 23 UFC victories while Maia sits behind him with 22. Maybe a potential win over Sanchez could lead to a meeting with Cerrone for the honor.

What do you make of Maia’s plans?