In NYC for UFC 205, Demian Maia doesn't see who might cut in line for his title shot now

Apart from its two protagonists, one particular fighter has a lot riding on Saturday’s UFC 205 co-headliner.

On the heels of his huge first-round submission win over Carlos Condit – the sixth on a streak that dates back to May 2014 – welterweight contender Demian Maia (24-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) will be at Madison Square Garden in New York as champ Tyron Woodley (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and challenger Stephen Thompson (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) decide who he hopes will be his next opponent.

And, as up in the air as UFC futures often are, this time he has trouble imagining how a 170-pound title shot might elude him.

“There isn’t (another fight for me right now), and I also don’t see who they can put to fight for the belt,” Maia told MMAjunkie. “If (former 170-pound champion) Georges St-Pierre comes back, it probably won’t be to fight for the welterweight belt; it’ll probably be against (middleweight champion Michael Bisping) or a superfight with someone like (Conor McGregor) at a lower weight or a catchweight or something.

“I think he’s not even interested in fighting for the belt since he’s won so many times. I don’t see any other possibilities of another person. There’s no one.”

A scenario with no extra players is: What if Woodley’s first title defense is one of those instant epics that awards the loser an instant rematch? It’s a possibility that Maia is aware of, but that given what he’s seen from both fighters so far, doesn’t seem all that likely.

“I do have that concern,” Maia said. “But, given their styles, I think that’s hard. I think that either Woodley will knock him out quickly – which I find less likely, but might happen – or Thompson will do that point game of his and will win on the scorecards. But I don’t see it being a highly exciting fight. But it could be. You never know.”

No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, Woodley looks to defend the 170-pound belt against No. 2-ranked Thompson (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in UFC 205’s pay-per-view co-main event after prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Maia, who said he’d take “a boat and a paddle” to New York if need be, ended up not having to go through such extremes. UFC officials invited him to attend, a move he said indicates they’re at least aware of his intentions of calling out the champion.

Pressed for a prediction as to who that may be, the Brazilian welterweight gave the challenger a slight edge. But as far as personal preference goes, he’s fine with any outcome.

“I see a small advantage for Thompson due to his fighting style,” Maia said. “Not because I think he’s better or worse than Woodley. I think they’re on a similar level. But as far as Thompson’s style goes, I take the fight between Woodley and (Rory McDonald at UFC 174), and something similar might happen.

“There probably is (a better matchup for me), but I haven’t been able to rationalize this yet – who’d be better for my game. Sometimes I think that it’s one of them for some features. Then I think it’s the other. One trainer thinks it’s one. The other thinks it’s the other. I don’t know.”

No. 5-ranked Maia, who unsuccessfully took a stab at the middleweight belt back in 2010, has been actively campaigning to get a welterweight title shot for a while – perhaps more vocally after his submission win over Matt Brown at May’s UFC 198 event.

While the official announcement as the next title challenger has so far eluded him, Maia has enjoyed a fair share of support from media, some of his peers and, more surprisingly, the fans – who have historically not been that enthusiastic about Maia’s low-damage approach to scraps.

Maia, who has said on occasion that he felt his style was under-appreciated, said that the newfound support stems from one basic truth: He’s winning.

“At the end of the day, we’re talking about a sport,” Maia said. “Even though it’s got this entertainment factor, when it comes down to it, when you’re fighting MMA, you’re an athlete. And people like sportspeople who are winning.

“So if you have six wins in a row, in which you’re dominating your opponent, I think everyone starts looking up to you because the people who understand it know it’s not easy to dominate your opponent, to not get hit. It’s high-level competition. In sports, at the end of the day, people start looking up to whoever’s winning.”

Maia has taken a few risks during his wait for the shot – the biggest and most recent a headlining “high-pressure” fight against the always-dangerous Condit. And that’s why, having paid his dues, Maia is not inclined to taking any more of those for the time being.

If by any chance the winner of Saturday’s scrap gets hurt and needs to wait a while before defending the title, for instance, he will wait.

“I can risk it and fight, and if I lose, I might lose a chance I might never get back,” Maia said. “The minute they scheduled it, I’m good to go. I’ve already been inactive for two months, and I’m training, and I could start the camp whenever they say. It will depend on the other guy. I’m training, so the day they say so, I’ll start a camp and, for me, with a 10-week fight camp, I’m ready to fight.”

Waiting around might seem like another type of risk considering a 39-year-old fighter. But as far as Maia is concerned, his age a non-issue – and retirement a rather abstract concept.

“I don’t get injured in training,” Maia said. “I like training. So as long as I enjoy training and can come to the gym everyday as happy as I do now, as long as I’m not getting injured, as long as I’m not feeling like I’m in physical decay, I’ll keep going. This is something I’ll only know as I feel my body.

“I don’t think it will be such a rational decision, at least for now. It could happen that one year from now, if I win the belt and defend it a few times, I could decide that I’m over it and stop. Then it could be a rational decision, but I think I will have to go my guts.”

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.