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Demian Maia says UFC tried to use him as 'stepping stone', but it didn't work

Demian Maia is done proving himself against welterweight prospects. As he told Combate, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace is past being a stepping stone for the division and wants his own title shot if he defeats Matt Brown at UFC 198.

"I always want to take top 10 or top 5 guys. Always. But in my last fights, they kept giving me these rising prospects that many people thought could beat me. But I beat them all, one after the other. First it was (Ryan) LaFlare, then (Neil) Magny and then Gunnar Nelson.