Demian Maia is back.
MMA Fighting confirmed with sources with knowledge of the matchup that Maia (28-10) and Belal Muhammad (18-3, 1 NC) have agreed to meet in a welterweight bout at UFC 263 on June 12, with a location still to be determined.
ESPN was first to report the news.
A UFC title challenger at both middleweight and welterweight, Maia competes for the first time since a UFC Fight Night in March of last year. At that event, Maia lost by first-round TKO to Gilbert Burns and saw a three-fight win streak snapped. The 43-year-old veteran competes in his 33rd UFC bout and currently holds a 22-10 record in the promotion.
As of now, this is also the final bout on Maia’s UFC contract and he hasn’t signed an extension with the promotion yet. Maia has previously hinted at his looming retirement but the Brazilian hasn’t made any public statement whether or not this could be his last fight.
Muhammad looks to rebound from an unfortunate no contest against Leon Edwards this past March. In the first UFC main event of his career, Muhammad suffered an eye poke in the second round that left him unable to continue and the bout was waved off without a winner. Prior to that no contest, Muhammad had won four straight fights and eight of his past nine.
A previously reported flyweight championship rematch between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno is expected to headline the June 12 pay-per-view.
Alexander K. Lee and Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.
EN 
ES 