Demian Maia says he had a hard path to a welterweight championship fight.
After his decision victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211, Demian Maia was seen talking to UFC President Dana White. In his in-cage interview, Maia revealed he asked White for a fight against UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley. Maia said White agreed and White later confirmed. At the post-fight press conference, Maia said he would need to take a break before his title bout.
"Now I want to rest a little bit. I have a lot of things ahead. I have to go to Vegas next week, for the retreat with UFC. Then I have my affiliates in the United States, they all are going to fly to L.A. I am going to give a five day course,that I give every year," said Maia. "So I need a little time to recover," he added.
He also pointed out he has had a difficult set of opponents as he has gone 10-2 in UFC's welterweight division and is sporting a seven-fight winning streak. Maia said he does not know anyone with a tougher path to the welterweight championship.
"Once I won against Gunner Nelson, they invited me to go watch Lawler and Condit. I was supposed to be next, they were recording me, I was in the front row. But then, things change and then I won against Matt Brown and then they said 'okay now we'll fight' and then 'no.' Then I won against Condit, interim champion, (won) in a very good way. And they were like 'now you're going fight' and 'no.' Finally I got this one," said Maia. " I think it was the toughest path for any welterweight to get a title shot," he said later.
During the press conference White said Maia had earned his championship opportunity and would be getting it. He also disagreed with the idea UFC told Maia he would get a championship bout before. Maia also talked about being patient and not worrying about things out of his control. He said he does not need to sell himself or trash talk to be successful.
The rest of the post-fight press conference can be found at UFC's YouTube. Fightful MMA provided live play-by-play of UFC 211.
