Watch UFC Chile this Saturday DEMIAN MAIA

D. Maia and K. Usman make the main fight of UFC Chile after an injury to Argentine S. Ponzinibbio. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram UFC

Ultimate arrives in Santiago this Saturday (19) for UFC Fight Night Chile. This is the first time that the event has taken place in South America outside of Brazil. In the main fight of the night, the Brazilian Demian Maia faces the Nigerian, Kamaru Usman in the welterweight category.

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The event card also features four more Brazilians: Vincent Luque faces Chad Laprise; Michel Trator faces Zak Cummings; Poliana Botelho measures forces against Japanese Syuri Kondo; Felipe Silva will face Claudio Puelles placeholder image.

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To get you in the mood for UFC Chile, check out five reasons why you should watch the event.

1 – Demian’s countdown

D. Maia accepted the challenge of replacing S. Ponzinibbio even with little preparation time. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram Demian Maia

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Demian Maia announced this week that he has four more fights under contract with the UFC and should hang up his gloves next. The first clash is against Kamaru Usman in this Saturday. The Brazilian believes that by the end of 2019 he should end his career.

Maia is considered one of the greatest representatives of jiu-jitsu in MMA and she takes this position seriously. “What excites me is my mission to spread Jiu-Jitsu to people, the fun of training and staying at the top. It was a vision that I had about three years ago, after having a shoulder problem, which is the mission to promote Jiu-Jitsu, which makes a difference every day in the lives of so many people, and that is more important than any thing”, explained Demian

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Demian has a record of 32 fights, 25 wins and eight losses in MMA. The jiu-jitsu black belt has already challenged for the UFC belt on two occasions, being surpassed by Anderson Silva, in 2010, for the middleweight title (up to 84kg.) and Tyron woodley for the welterweight belt (up to 77,1kg). in 2017. The Brazilian's last fight was the defeat to the North American Colby covington last October, in São Paulo.

2 – The Nigerian nightmare: Kamaru Usman

Usman remains undefeated in the UFC. (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC)

Even at 31 years old, Kamaru Usman is still a newcomer to MMA. The Nigerian faces the Brazilian Demian Maia with an eye on rising to the top-5 welterweight division.

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Owner of a wrestler's game with excellent takedowns and heavy fist boxing, Usman wants to live up to his nickname and be the Brazilian's 'Nigerian Nightmare'.

He has 13 fights in his career, with 12 wins and one defeat. In the UFC, he is undefeated with seven wins. The Nigerian nightmare has already faced the Brazilians: Warlley alves e Sergio Moraes.

3 – Zak Cummings x Michel Trator

Trator was unable to make weight in the lightweight category at UFC Belém and Rotterdam. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram Michel Trator

In the welterweight category, Zak Cummings faces Brazilian Michel Trator in the last fight on the preliminary card. Michel Trator originally belongs to the lightweight division (up to 70,3kg), but having difficulty losing weight at the events in Belém and Rotterdam, he was penalized by the UFC. The athlete was placed in the welterweight division (up to 77,1kg).

Trator debuted with a defeat in Ultimate in 2013 against another Brazilian Paulo thiago at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold. Michel has a record of 26 fights, with 24 wins and two losses. His last fight was the decision victory over American Desmond Green at UFC Belém in February this year.

Zak Cummings began his MMA career in 2007 and has accumulated ten consecutive victories in events in the United States. Thus, in 2009, he caught the attention of the now-defunct Strikeforce, which hired him to fight Tim Kennedy. Cummings was defeated via choke submission in the second round. In 2013 he was signed by the UFC and debuted with a victory over Ben Alloway. Zac has a record of 26 fights, with 21 wins and five losses.

4 – Poliana Botelho, the hope of Nova União

P. Botelho has a record of six wins and one defeat. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram Poliana Botelho

In recent years, the Nova União team has won belts in the main MMA events around the world. However, recently, the team lost ground due to drops in José Aldo e Renan Barao in the UFC, in addition to Dudu Dantas at Bellator. But with a new crop of athletes, that could change.

Poliana Botelho, 29 years old, is a disciple of Dedé Pederneiras and is one of the hopes of Nova União. In UFC Chile against Japanese Syuri Kondo she will be in her second fight for Ultimate.

In 2014 and 2015, the Brazilian fought three times for XFC Internacional where she won all fights by knockout. Poliana's performances caught the attention of the UFC. Her debut was with a victory over Pearl Gonzalez at UFC 216 in October 2017.

First event in South America outside Brazil

UFC Fight Night 129 should receive around 12 thousand spectators. (Photo: Reproduction/Instagram Movistar Arena)

In its global expansion plan, the UFC takes another step this Saturday. The city of Santiago, capital of Chile, hosts the first Spanish-speaking event held in South America. The other events were held only in Brazil. The Movistar Arena has a capacity for around 12 thousand spectators and promises to have maximum capacity.

With the event in Chile, there will be two consecutive cards in South America. A week before, on May 12th, Rio de Janeiro hosts UFC 224 at the Jeunesse Arena.

UFC Fight Night 129 has 13 fights with six clashes on the main card and seven on the preliminary. The event will be broadcast on Canal Combate from 19:30 pm.