Just hours before Demian Maia and Jorge Masvidal are scheduled to fight at UFC 211, the stakes have been raised even higher for the two welterweight contenders.
UFC President Dana White said on UFC 211’s pre-fight show on FX that the winner of tonight’s showdown between Maia (24-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) and Masvidal (32-11 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will be next to challenge UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley (17-3-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) for the title.
UFC 211 takes place at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Maia vs. Masvidal airs on the pay-per-view main card following prelims on FX and UFC Fight Pass.
Maia, No. 5 in latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, enters the event on a UFC divisional best six-fight winning streak. He has absorbed just 13 significant strikes combined over his past four fights, with his most recent win coming against former interim UFC champ Carlos Condit at UFC on FOX 21 in August.
No. 9 Masvidal is riding a three-fight winning streak. He defeated Donald Cerrone by second-round knockout in his most recent bout at UFC on FOX 23 in January.
For complete coverage of UFC 211, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
[sigallery id=”abFDrLdwaNra2Aat9k88g4″ title=”Jorge Masvidal” type=”sigallery”]
