If at first you don't succeed, dust off 15 pounds and try again.
That's the game plan for Demian Maia, who revealed one week ago that he would officially make the drop to welterweight after failing in his quest to secure gold at 185-pounds. Now he's got a date and opponent for his first test at his new weight class.
The UFC revealed today that Maia will take on Korean judo stylist Dong Hyun Kim at the upcoming UFC 148 event set to go down on July 7, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Maia (15-4) was widely criticized for his lackluster performance in a unanimous decision loss to Chris Weidman at the UFC on Fox 2 event earlier this year. It was the seventh consecutive fight that ended in decision for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt, who began his UFC career with five straight submission victories.
Will shedding a few pounds get him back to his winning ways?
It took more than seven years from the start of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career for Dong Hyun Kim to finally taste defeat. But when he was hit with his first loss, he was hit hard to the tune of a flying knee knockout courtesy of current Interim Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit at UFC 132 during the Fourth of July weekend last year.
He rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over Sean Pierson last December, a performance far more in tune with what we're used to seeing from "Stun Gun."
Will he have better luck over the holiday weekend this year? Stay tuned.
UFC 148 is expected to feature a bantamweight title fight between TUF 15 coaches (and bitter rivals) Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, in addition to middleweight match-ups between Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le and Tim Boetsch vs. Michael Bisping.
Oh and don't forget Tito Ortiz's retirement fight rubber match against Forrest Griffin.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on this upcoming fight card as they develop. In the meantime, see what's in store for "Sin City" on July 7 right here.