With Santiago Ponzinibbio forced to withdraw from his May 19 bout against Kamaru Usman due to injury, former world welterweight title challenger Demian Maia has agreed to step up and fight "The Nigerian Nightmare" in the five-round main event at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile.
The UFC Fight Night card, the UFC's first in Chile, airs on FS1.
Winner of 11 in a row, a stretch that includes seven UFC wins, including victories over Leon Edwards, Sean Strickland and Sergio Moraes, the No. 7-ranked Usman has been a nightmare matchup for everyone he's faced, and he expects similar results against the Brazilian grappling wizard Maia, the No. 5-ranked contender at 170 pounds who owns wins over the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Carlos Condit, Matt Brown, Neil Magny and Gunnar Nelson.
