Demian Maia is currently not under UFC contract, but he is looking to fight one more time in the promotion.
Maia is coming off a decision loss to Belal Muhammad at UFC 263 which was the final fight of his contract. The 43-year-old is on a two-fight losing streak but he is hoping he can fight one more time.
“It has happened other times, we’ve all seen it before, the company changing their stance and plans,” Maia said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “It depends a lot on what happens in the market… I’ve fought my entire life in the UFC. That’s my home.
“I want to do one last fight there, and I think it depends on what happens in Brazil,” Maia continued. “That’s a feeling my manager and I have. If they are having shows with fans here soon, I think that will draw interest from the UFC to have me fighting. I’m waiting and seeing what happens, but I do want to fight one last fight. I’m still training twice a day.”
Although he hopes he can fight one more time in MMA, during this time off, he has received offers to compete in jiu-jitsu. Maia says that he likes that idea and is open to grappling matches against high-profile MMA stars.
“Chael [Sonnen] has a promotion in the United States, Submission Underground, and he talked to me about the possibility of facing someone there,” Maia said. “I think it would be cool to face someone from MMA [in jiu-jitsu] because of the [attention] that name would bring.
“If I face someone from the new generation of jiu-jitsu, he might have a name in the jiu-jitsu [community] but that’s a niche thing. If I get an MMA guy… Let me give you an example: Sonnen texted me after my last fight asking if I was interested in facing Tony Ferguson or Kamaru Usman,” Maia concluded. “That’s the type of match that would not only appeal to the jiu-jitsu community but also MMA and everyone that likes fights in any way.”
