Demian Maia is done waiting for his title shot and will instead return to action on May 13 as he faces rising welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211 in Dallas.
UFC officials announced the pairing on Tuesday.
A winner of six consecutive bouts, Maia has been knocking on the door of a title shot for some time now but he couldn't have predicted that current champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson would fight to a draw, which led to a rematch at UFC 209 this weekend.
Maia hasn't fought since last August, when he submitted former interim champion Carlos Condit, but now he's booked his next fight with hopes of fighting for the title with a win.
Masvidal will look to stop his streak while keeping one of his own alive.
Masvidal has gone undefeated since moving to 170 pounds, including his stunning victory over Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in January to move him to the No. 6 spot in the rankings.
The winner of Maia and Masvidal could certainly face whoever comes out on top in the matchup between Woodley and Thompson on Saturday night.
UFC 211 is headlined by a pair of title fights as heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic faces Junior dos Santos while strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk puts her belt on the line against Brazilian slugger Jessica Andrade.
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