In a recent GRACIEMAG.com interview, Demian Maia said it would take some time before he’d get his shot at Anderson Silva in the UFC. The loss to Nate Marquardt would have perished the possibility. However, things change. Vitor Belfort’s injury opened up a berth in the title fight, to be held April 10 in Abu Dhabi. And Dana White called on the Jiu-Jitsu black belt to fill that berth.

In a recent GRACIEMAG.com interview, Demian Maia said it would take some time before he’d get his shot at Anderson Silva in the UFC. The loss to Nate Marquardt would have perished the possibility. However, things change. Vitor Belfort’s injury opened up a berth in the title fight, to be held April 10 in Abu Dhabi. And Dana White called on the Jiu-Jitsu black belt to fill that berth.

“It couldn’t be any better! This is the best carnival of my life!” celebrates Demian.

“Excellent! It was just what I wanted, something I fought for my entire life. I’ve been preparing myself for this my whole life and to have this opportunity now is great,” he added.

You just fought at UFC 109, on February 6. Can you possibly rest your body enough to fight again April 10?

This is the opportunity I can’t pass up. It may happen only once in my lifetime. It’s not the ideal amount of time, but, at the same time, it’s not bad. I’m coming off a fight and I’m not out of rhythm. I’ll rest this week until half way through next week. Then I’ll get back to training. That will be enough time for my body to rest, because generally that’s how long I rest, about 10 days. The difference is that, this time, I’ll have to pick up the pace a bit quicker than I plan to with four months of pre time.

What is your take on this opportunity against Anderson, probably the most important fight of your career?

I’ve had seven fights in the UFC, I’ve competed in countless Jiu-Jitsu championships and been in really difficult situations. I’ll keep doing what I do and try to be as perfect as possible, in training and in carrying myself. For sure this will be the most important fight, but each fight I go into is the most important. The last one was, the one I lost was, too, because they could lead me to the title. So it’s always important.