Demian Maia still wants to share the octagon with Diego Sanchez.
With one fight remaining on his UFC contract, and a heavy lean toward retiring from the sport afterward, Maia (28-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) is once again floating the idea of a matchup with Sanchez (30-12 MMA, 19-12 UFC).
A welterweight clash against the Season 1 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series is something Maia has pitched for the better part of two years. Maia and Sanchez are two of the longest-tenured athletes on the UFC roster, and the pairing is arguably overdue.
Maia seems to think so, because he’s once again pushed for the matchup on social media (via Twitter):
Yes @DiegoSanchezUFC! Let’s do it
Maia, 42, is coming off a first-round TKO loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC on ESPN+ 28 in March. The outcome snapped a three-fight winning streak from the Brazilian, who has challenged for UFC titles at welterweight and middleweight.
Sanchez, 38, is a former UFC title challenger, as well, who picked up a disqualification win over Michel Pereira at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in February. The fallout of the fight brought much scrutiny due to Sanchez’s unique relationship with trainer Joshua Fabia.
It appears Sanchez is on board with the idea of a showdown (via Instagram):
We’re all excited to get back to our normal!!! @demianmaia @danawhite @ufc fight island?
A potential matchup between Maia and Sanchez would be historic. It would represent their combined 65th UFC appearance, which would be the most experience for a single matchup in company history.
