Demian Maia finally gets his long-awaited shot at UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley when the two meet at UFC 214 on July 29 with the winner then set to face the returning Georges St. Pierre later in the year.
Announced by Woodley on last night’s edition of ‘UFC Tonight‘ on FS1, the bout is the third title fight to be added to UFC 214, due to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, with Daniel Cormier defending his light-heavyweight strap against arch-nemesis Jon Jones in the main event.
Also added yesterday was the battle for the vacant women’s featherweight title as Cris Cyborg takes on Invicta FC bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger after Invicta’s featherweight champion Megan Anderson had to pull out due to “personal issues”.
The title shot has been a long time coming for the Brazilian as Maia was passed over twice despite holding the division’s longest active win streak with seven consecutive wins since a 2014 loss to Rory MacDonald at UFC 170. A split decision win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211 has finally forced the promotion to give the 39-year-old the chance he deserves, and although he expressed a desire to take a break over the summer to focus on his commitments to his gym franchises, the lure of getting his hands on the gold must have proved too strong for Maia.
Welterweight kingpin Woodley first won the 170lb title from Robbie Lawler with a first round KO at UFC 201 and since then has defended his belt twice in a pair of bouts against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson with the first being declared a draw after an action-packed fight at UFC 205 which split fans down the middle. The second bout however was a dull and tedious effort from both fighters and seen Woodley do just enough to remain the champion. He will now face the dangerous BJJ of the number one contender in a match-up that’s a quintessential example of “striker vs. grappler”.
Dana White then revealed in an exclusive interview with MMAJunkie that former welterweight champion St. Pierre would be ready to face the winner after the UFC legend held talks with White in Las Vegas.
“Georges is saying he wants to fight; we’ll get this thing figured out,” stated White.
“We’re talking about Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia. These two are going to fight soon. That will free up the 170-pound champion for Georges St-Pierre to return and try to regain his belt.”
GSP’s return is thought to be targeted for early November when the UFC will once again arrive at Madison Square Garden after last year’s debut New York show, UFC 205.
