Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace, Demian Maia, hopes to return to action at UFC 136 according to tatame.com.

"The expectation is for a Top 10 opponent. Demian is a great athlete and did a great fight against Mark Muñoz, losing in the details. Unfortunately, every loss is a step back, and only way to move forward again is fighting a Top 10," Maia's manager, Eduardo Alonso, said.

Despite showing improved striking and stunning his opponent in the first round, Maia's last bout in the octagon was a unanimous decision loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 131. Prior to the loss, Maia was on a two fight win streak after defeating Kendall Grove and Mario Miranda via unanimous decision in successive bouts. Maia is currently 8-3 in the UFC, with five submission wins.

"We're seeing the rumors, fighting being confirmed, like Vitor against Akiyama and Anderson vs. Okami, so the division is busy. Anderson stays reigning, but the challengers are coming up and down all the time. Everything can change, a whole other picture by the end of the year. To put Demian back to the mix, he has to fight ranked opponents," Alonso added.

Official booking for Maia and his opponent at UFC 136 still remains.

UFC 136 will be on October 8 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The only confirmed bout is between Chael Sonnen fighting Brian Stann. This will be Sonnen's first bout in over a year after regaining his fight license. Stann is riding a three fight winning streak, recently defeating Jorge Santiago via tko in the second round at UFC 130.