Demian Maia confirmed as Vitor Belfort’s replacement
With Vitor Belfort having to pull out of UFC 112 due to a shoulder injury, the UFC were starting to sweat on a replacement. Speculation even loomed that a match with current UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva may even be pulled from UFC 112 altogether, but it was finally decided that Demian Maia will be replacing Belfort and the fight will still be for the Middleweight belt. UFC President Dana White confirmed the news:
“It’s always tough when a top fighter like Vitor Belfort has to pull out of a big title fight, but we have found a high quality replacement. Top contender Chael Sonnen was not available due to injuries sustained in his fight with Nate Marquardt, so top-six middleweight Demian Maia will step in to fight for the title.”
“””Maia is an Abu Dhabi grappling champion, a five-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, and he is 12-1 in MMA and coming off a win over Dan Miller at UFC 109. Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia will be a matchup between MMA’s best striker and MMA’s best grappler.”
UFC Lightweight Title fight between BJ “The Prodigy” Penn and Frankie “The Answer” Edgar will be a co-main event of the evening. UFC 112 will take place on April 10, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
