Demian Maia given three possibilities if he doesn’t receive title shot

Top ranked UFC welterweight Demian Maia has been on a tear of the UFC’s welterweight division over the course of the past two years, going 6-0 as he has defeated top contenders such as former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit, and rising prospect Gunnar Nelson. Maia’s impressive 6-fight win streak has earned him the #3 spot on the UFC’s official welterweight rankings, however despite that, it could be some time before Maia fights for the UFC welterweight championship.

This past weekend at UFC 205, welterweight #1 contender Stephen Thompson fought welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in a 5-round scrap that saw Woodley retain his championship via majority draw. Following the fight, UFC President Dana White revealed that because the fight was a draw, Thompson would be getting an immediate rematch.

This left the question of what would be next for Demian Maia, who has heard no word as to when his next fight would be, or who it would be against, since his 1st round submission win over Carlos Condit back in August.

According to Guilherme Cruz, who spoke to Maia, he has been given three options for his next fight should he not be given a title fight:

Demian Maia on what's next if he doesn't get a title shot: Cerrone, catchweight with Silva, or "the UFC mentioned a fight vs. Lawler".

— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) November 18, 2016

The first option, a fight with Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone could mean Maia has to wait on the sidelines for several more weeks depending on how Cerrone’s upcoming fight with Matt Brown goes, and whether or not Cerrone receives a medical suspension following the fight.

The second option, a catchweight fight with Anderson Silva, could be an extremely interesting possibility given the fact that both men are elite level Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. Since Silva suffered a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, after taking the fight on just 48 hours notice, there has been no word as to when he will return to the Octagon.

The final option for Maia is a fight with former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, who lost the welterweight championship to Tyron Woodley back at the end of August when he was KOd in the first round of their UFC 201 scrap.

Who would you like to see Maia fight next? Give us your thoughts below PENN Nation!