In his own words, Brazilian grappling and ground fighting expert Demian Maia not gonna sell out for title shot. When he appeared on the main card of the UFC 211 event, Maia picked up a huge decision win over Jorge Masvidal. This means that he essentially clinched a title shot against welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in doing so.
Many commentators felt that the current emphasis on so-called money fights means that Maia will probably get jumped over to bring in a bigger name. Some say that putting Nick Diaz or Georges St-Pierre against Woodley would bring higher ratings for a title bout on television. A few people have suggested that trash talking Woodley would help Maia promote his own image, but he said that boosting his popularity in this fashion is simply contrary to what he stands for. He refuses to sell out his principles for a shot at gold in the UFC.
Maia did say that he found a few areas of weakness in Tyron’s defense that he could capitalize on, but he didn’t elaborate on what he feels these gaps are. Perhaps he figures that he’d be throwing away his advantage if he said anything more about it.
