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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Demian Maia was supposed to return to action next week at UFC 163 in Brazil, but an injury to his opponent, Josh Koscheck, took him out of the card as well. Now, his next fight may still be coming in Brazil, but against a different foe.
According to a report from Brazil's LANCE! Net, Maia and Jake Shields have verbally agreed to meet on a card in Brazil sometime this fall, though a date is not yet set.
Maia's won three straight fights since dropping to the welterweight division, stopping Dong Hyun Kim and Rick Story before taking a dominant decision over Jon Fitch.
Shields returned to the welterweight division himself in his last outing, bouncing back from an overturned win at middleweight over Ed Herman due to a failed drug test when he defeated Tyron Woodley.
Penick's Analysis: This makes more sense than Maia-Koscheck, considering Shields has actually won a fight recently. That said, it's either going to be one of the best fights of the year or one of the worst, without much in between. Still, it's a good welterweight matchup, and a win would be another step forward for Maia.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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