mma / News

Demian Maia Has Some Goals For What May Be His Last UFC Fights

May 18, 2018 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

Demian Maia spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight with Kamaru Usman at UFC Fight Night 129. Highlights are below:

On the stakes of the fight: “I think that, if a win comes, it will say a lot. It will say I’m still in the front line to fight for the belt. And that I can still be champion.”

On his current UFC contract possibly being his last: “I’m actually doing very well, still – I feel very good. But I also want time to do other things. Other projects, other things I have in mind. So that’s the reason for my plan, to do these four fights and possibly stop. I have other things, maybe teach seminars, I have affiliates, I have my gym (Vila da Luta, in his native Sao Paulo, Brazil). We’re doing a documentary with Combate and the UFC that I still can’t reveal details on, but it was really cool, travelling the world, talking about the history of fighting. And these are all things that I want to do. But I can’t do these things while fighting in the UFC, because as a high-level sport it’s naturally very demanding and it tales 100 percent focus. So you can’t do these things the way that you’d like to.”

On his goal for his remaining fights: “There are a few records I want to break, like the most wins in UFC history, most finishes, goals like these. But I think I want to do good fights, regardless of anything, to keep the legacy I built and continue my life after I’m done fighting.”

On fighting in the main event in Chile: “Now, to do this main event here, it’s very gratifying.”

On Usman calling him out in 2016: “At the time, my focus was solely on fighting for the belt – I had six wins in a row and I didn’t want to hear about another fight. I ended up fighting Jorge Masvidal, but I wanted the belt. But I knew that, eventually, (Usman) could make it up there, whether I was champion or not, to a title shot. So I started watching him.”

On Usman: “It’s a hard fight; It’s a tough fight. Not because of the style – but because he’s a good athlete. He’s tough and, whenever that’s the case, it’s not easy to impose your game. But that’s the big thing about training and fighting, it’s about being able to impose your game regardless of your opponent’s style.”