Longtime UFC welterweight and middleweight contender Demian Maia says that he is open to a comeback inside the Octagon.
At age 48, Maia is no spring chicken. He has not fought in MMA since losing a decision to Belal Muhammad at UFC 263 in June 2021. Yes, despite his advanced age and long layoff from active competition, the Brazilian grappling legend says he is open to fighting again.
Demian Maia Would Fight Again
Speaking to MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz, Maia admitted that he is open to taking another UFC fight if it’s in either Brazil or Las Vegas, two places where he has fought many times before.
“(The door) is closing, but I’d be lying if I said that, if the UFC came to me with an offer for a meaningful fight, in the right setting, I wouldn’t do it. If it made sense and it was in a place like Rio de Janeiro or Las Vegas, where I’ve fought so many times and have so much history, I would definitely consider it,” Maia said.
Maia has been working as a color commentator for UFC on Paramount+ while also coaching star fighters like Ian Machado Garry and Charles Oliveira. But he would like to compete inside the Octagon one more time if the UFC wanted him back and matched him up with someone whom he finds interesting.
Belal Muhammad Wasn’t Intended to Be Retirement Match
According to Maia, his fight with Muhammad was never intended to be his retirement bout. But after losing that fight, his contract with the UFC expired, and he was removed from the roster, though he never officially announced his retirement from MMA.
Maia would like a proper farewell and for things to end properly for him.
“I do feel like I never got a proper farewell, you know? It all ended in a bit of an anticlimactic way. I lost to Belal Muhammad in 2021. I won one round, he won two. It wasn’t a particularly exciting fight. Even back then, I already wanted one more fight so I could retire. I was already thinking about stepping away, but it never happened. So there’s always that feeling of, ‘Man, I wish I had been able to close that chapter,’ and I never got the chance. I think it’s very unlikely the UFC would want to make something like that happen, but this sport surprises us every single day,” Maia said.
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