Georges St-Pierre will grapple Demian Maia in a December 14 contest to be aired on UFC Fight Pass, it has been confirmed.
It was revealed in recent weeks that St-Pierre will compete for the first time since a November 2017 title-winning performance against then-middleweight champion Michael Bisping — and while he won’t be donning the 4oz gloves one more time (or in December, at least), the matchup promises to be a fascinating one between one of the UFC’s most dominant-ever champions St-Pierre against one of the finest submission artists ever to compete in the cage.
Every now and then, something comes up that still does really motivate you.
Grappling @GeorgesStPierre will be a huge challenge & great motivation.
You GSP are one of the greatest competitors ever, whom I respect a lot. I’m game! Looking forward to competing at @ufc invitational.— Demian Maia (@demianmaia) July 20, 2023
“Every now and then, something comes up that still does really motivate you,” Maia wrote in a Thursday tweet. “Grappling Georges St. Pierre will be a huge challenge & great motivation. You GSP are one of the greatest competitors ever, whom I respect a lot. I’m game! Looking forward to competing at UFC invitational.”
Maia, 45, last competed in MMA in June 2021 where he lost a unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad, in what was his second defeat in succession following a TKO loss to Gilbert Burns in March the year before. Prior to that, the Brazilian won 10 of his last 13 UFC fights, with his final victory being a submission win against Ben Askren. In all, he has 14 submission wins from his 28 victories.
By comparison, St-Pierre has six submission victories from his 26 wins — including that rear-naked choke he applied to Michael Bisping back in New York City in his final fight six years ago.
