Demian Maia wants Robbie Lawler title fight, knows he can win by submission

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion Robbie Lawler is already moving on to bigger and better things following his epic knockout win over Robbie Lawler last month in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch it).

But getting past Carlos Condit -- or even Johny Hendricks -- doesn't mean he's out of the woods just yet.

That's because the new-and-improved Demian Maia is already setting his sights on a "Ruthless" title fight, one he's confident he can win if the heavy-handed Lawler whiffs and gets taken down.

Maia talks to MMA Junkie:

"Robbie is a guy with big heart, he's hard to take down, heavy hands, he deserves to be a champion. I wish I can fight him one day for the title. In my case (the ground is) the only way. I'm not going to exchange punches. His hands are too heavy. You see what he did in his last fight. But if I'm able to take him down I know I can win. I can do that to pretty much anyone in the division."

Maia knows a thing or two about fighting championship strikers.

The hot-and-cold Brazilian got back into the mix by submitting 170-pound wunderkind Neil Magny at the UFC 190 pay-per-view (PPV) event last Saturday night (Aug. 1, 2015) in Brazil, his first win by way of tap in nearly three years.

Is it time for "Ruthless" to start looking over his shoulder ... or too soon?