Days after losing out on a headlining spot, Demian Maia has his next assignment, likely moving to UFC 118 where the former No. 1 middleweight contender would face Mario Miranda.
A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed the possibility of the bout, which was first reported by MMA Junkie. The fight is not yet signed, according to the source, thought it appears likely.
Maia (12-2) had been preparing to face Alan Belcher in a Sept. 15 Ultimate Fight Night event, but Belcher was forced to withdraw from the card after undergoing eye surgery. Maia was then pulled from the event.
The Brazilian submission specialist would be making his first appearance since losing in a middleweight title match to Anderson Silva at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. That fight drew waves of criticism from the MMA community for the behavior of Silva, who spent much of the bout dancing and hurling trash talk Maia's way. Silva, though, won the bout by unanimous decision.
Miranda, meanwhile, just recently notched his first UFC win after a technical knockout of David Loiseau at UFC 115. The 10-1 Miranda's only loss came via TKO at the hands of Gerald Harris.
Miranda, like Maia, holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, though the majority of his wins come via KO. He has five stoppages from KO and three submissions.
If signed, the Maia-Miranda bout would round out the main card for the UFC's debut in Massachusetts.
The night's main event is a lightweight championship rematch between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn, while the co-main event will feature Randy Couture greeting multi-time boxing champ James Toney into the UFC octagon.
A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed the possibility of the bout, which was first reported by MMA Junkie. The fight is not yet signed, according to the source, thought it appears likely.
Maia (12-2) had been preparing to face Alan Belcher in a Sept. 15 Ultimate Fight Night event, but Belcher was forced to withdraw from the card after undergoing eye surgery. Maia was then pulled from the event.
The Brazilian submission specialist would be making his first appearance since losing in a middleweight title match to Anderson Silva at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. That fight drew waves of criticism from the MMA community for the behavior of Silva, who spent much of the bout dancing and hurling trash talk Maia's way. Silva, though, won the bout by unanimous decision.
Miranda, meanwhile, just recently notched his first UFC win after a technical knockout of David Loiseau at UFC 115. The 10-1 Miranda's only loss came via TKO at the hands of Gerald Harris.
Miranda, like Maia, holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, though the majority of his wins come via KO. He has five stoppages from KO and three submissions.
If signed, the Maia-Miranda bout would round out the main card for the UFC's debut in Massachusetts.
The night's main event is a lightweight championship rematch between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn, while the co-main event will feature Randy Couture greeting multi-time boxing champ James Toney into the UFC octagon.