Maia: I’m Ready for UFC Title Shot!

Demian Maia, it seems, is done waiting his turn, and wants to use his impressive win over Gunnar Nelson at UFC 194 as springboard for a shot at the UFC welterweight title. Demian Maia has long been regarded as one of the best- if not the best- jiu jitsu fighter in MMA. The fourth-degree blackbelt has won four submission of the night bonuses since joining the promotion, and even fought for the middleweight title against Anderson Silva in Abu Dhabi in 2010. The Brazilian dropped down to welterweight two years later and has since compiled a record of 7-2. However, now 38 and his dominant victory over Gunnar Nelson completing a four fight win-streak, Maia wants another shot at UFC gold, and he thinks that the UFC ranking system is getting in the way of his dream: "People are influenced by marketing and whatnot. I think the ranking system should be defined with a mathematic formula or something and not just someone's opinion over who's the better fighter. I beat Magny- a Performance of The Night, by the way- after that he fought twice and defeated Erick Silva and Kelvin Gastelum, but Gastelum, who lost to him, rose two spots. I don't know what's up with that. I'm ready for the title, I'm a much improved fighter." Maia is presently ranked 5th in his weight-class, and would probably need at least one successful bout against the men placed above him to secure his shot. However, with Hendricks' weight issues, and a history of injury problems among their number, his chance may come a lot sooner than he expects.