Demian Maia to retire after next fight, wants either Donald Cerrone or Diego Sanchez next

UFC welterweight legend Demian Maia says he will retire after one more fight, but he wants to fight either Diego Sanchez or Donald Cerrone next.

Maia was knocked out in shocking fashion by Gilbert Burns in the co-main event of UFC Brasilia. After controlling the first few minutes of the fight on the ground, the fight went back to the feet where Burns caught Maia with a big left hook, sending him to the mat where a few extra hammer fists put the veteran away. It was only the second knockout loss of Maia’s nearly 20-year MMA career.

Following the fight, Maia spoke to media in Brazil and said he has one fight left on his contracts. According to Maia, he plans on fulfilling the last fight on his deal and then retiring. For his final retirement bout, Maia is requesting either Sanchez or Cerrone.

“I want one more and then probably retire,” Maia said (h/t MMAFighting.com).

“There’s two guys. One is Diego Sanchez, because he’s been asking for this fight for a long time so I want to fight him in the last fight. A good last fight because he’s a old legend, too. The other one is Cerrone, also would be interesting because he has one win more than I,” Maia said.

At age 42, Maia is one of the oldest fighters in the UFC. Instead of calling out a young buck for his last fight, he instead wants to fight veteran legends in Sanchez and Cerrone, who are both nearing their late 40s. Both fights make a lot of sense for Maia in his retirement swansong, so let’s see now if the UFC gives Maia his wish and books him against either of the two men he called for.

Who would you rather see Demian Maia fight next, Donald Cerrone or Diego Sanchez?