Demian Maia is set to headline UFC Chile. The 40-year-old UFC veteran will be going up against Kamaru Usman at the event and it will be his 28th fight inside the UFC Octagon.
Talks about Maia’s retirement have been around the block for some time now and now the man himself has opened up about the same. During his latest appearance on the MMA Hour, Maia revealed that, he might retire in 2019.
“I’m okay, I’m happy. The UFC’s happy with everything. Everything is set up right now and for me, it’s a big challenge for sure, but I’m thinking that I want to fight this year, maybe next year finish these fights on my contract because I love to fight and I’m still performing well during training camps. But I don’t know if I will still fight after next year. So this could be my last contract with the UFC and after that I retire,” he said.
The new deal
Currently holding an impressive record of 25-8 to his name, Maia started his career back in 2001 and has been a mainstay in UFC for quite some time now. He went on to add that he wants to change things a bit and spend some time with his family once he hangs up his gloves.
“Not because I don’t like or I don’t enjoy it, of course, I love it, but I’ve been almost eleven years in this game in the UFC and it’s a lot of commitment, a lot of pressure, and also I want to have different projects that I like to do. Change a little bit, do some changes, be able to be a little bit more with family and kids and give more time for them also,” he added.
Interestingly, Maia recently signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC and the contract starts with the UFC Chile headliner against Kamaru Usman.
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