Demian Maia returns to the UFC octagon in June!
Brett Okamoto of ESPN was first to report the news that No. 8 ranked welterweight Maia will return to fight No. 13 ranked Belal Muhammad at UFC 263 on June 12. Both fighters would confirm the news on their social media.
By the time Maia (28-10) fights, it will be more than a year since he fought Gilbert Burns at UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira in his home country of Brazil. He would lose via first-round knockout. The loss to Burns would snap the UFC veteran’s three-fight win streak that included wins over Ben Askren, Lyman Good, and Anthony Rocco Martin. Maia was flirting with retirement after the loss to Burns and said he would retire after his next fight, but nothing new has come of it.
Muhammad (18-3-1) won’t get the Leon Edwards rematch he wanted, but Maia will do. “Remember the name” is coming off a no contest where he was poked in the eye and could not continue. A month prior to the Edwards fight at UFC 258, he defeated Dhiego Lima via unanimous decision. Muhammad is riding a four-fight win streak with wins over Good, Curtis Millender, and Takashi Sato.
UFC 263 takes place June 12, 2021. While no official location or venue have been announced for the PPV card, the following fights have been reported:
- Deiveson Figueiredo (c) vs. Brandon Moreno – for the UFC flyweight championship
- Demian Maia vs. Belal Muhammad
- Carlos Felipe vs. Jake Collier
- Luigi Vendramini vs. Fares Ziam
- Movsar Evloev vs. Hakeem Dawodu
- Lauren Murphy vs. Joanne Calderwood
