Demian Maia Returns to Face Belal Muhammad at UFC 263 on June 12

Demian Maia is back for a potential farewell bout, as he will square off against Belal Muhammad at UFC 263.

ESPN was first to report the welterweight pairing. UFC 263 takes place at an undisclosed location on June 12 and features a flyweight title rematch pitting Deiveson Figueiredo against Brandon Moreno.

After suffering a first-round TKO loss to Gilbert Burns in the UFC Fight Night 170 co-main event in March 2020, Maia expressed a desire to finish out his contract with the promotion and then call it a career after one more bout. Prior to the setback against Burns, the 43-year-old jiu-jitsu ace had won three consecutive fight in the Octagon, besting Lyman Good, Anthony Rocco Martin and Ben Askren in succession.

Muhammad is unbeaten in his last five UFC outings but is coming off a no contest against Leon Edwards on March 13. The bout ended when Muhammad was unable to continue after being poked in the eye by his opponent 18 seconds into Round 2. Although “Remember the Name” wanted an immediate rematch, Edwards was instead booked against Nate Diaz in the UFC 262 co-main event.