Demian Maia felt he was shortchanged by the referee in his fight with Gilbert Burns at UFC on ESPN+ 28, but unsurprisingly, he’s handling the defeat with all class. Maia (28-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) suffered a first-round TKO loss to Burns (17-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in Saturday’s welterweight co-headliner at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil, ending a three-fight winning streak for the two-time UFC title challenger. After having positive moments in the early going, mostly in the grappling department, Maia got clipped with a hard shot by Burns that sent him crashing to the canvas. Burns jumped on top with some additional strikes that caused the referee to step in, but some observers, and Maia himself, felt it was ended a bit too soon. “Unfortunately, the referee stopped it – I thought I could go a little bit more, but it is what it is,” Maia said on the UFC on ESPN+ 28 post-fight show. “I feel I was OK.
View original post here:
Demian Maia disagrees with UFC Brasilia stoppage, will retire after next fight – MMA Junkie