FORTALEZA, Brazil – If all goes well, Demian Maia will fight – and win – three more times before he seriously considers retirement from MMA.

The former multi-time UFC title challenger Maia (25-9 MMA, 19-9 UFC), who meets Lyman Good (20-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in a welterweight bout on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 2, makes no secrets that he’s at the tail-end of his career. The Brazilian has many more fights behind him than he does in front, but he still has goals and aspirations for his career.

Maia is realistic about his position in the sport, though, and if he wants to get where he wants, he knows he can’t extend the three-fight skid he’ll be bringing into UFC on ESPN+ 2.

“I go fight by fight,” Maia told MMAjunkie. “Of course when you’re winning, the title is much more vivid in your mind. First, I need to win this fight on Saturday. Maybe win one, two, and then start thinking again. We’ll see how it’s going to be this year. It will be natural. I will start to switch the mindset. Right now my focus is: I have three more fights on my contract, I want to win those fights. That’s it.”

UFC on ESPN+ 2 takes place at Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. The entire event streams on ESPN+, with Maia vs. Good booked for the main card.

At 41, the combination of Maia’s age and recent record raise questions about his place in the 170-pound landscape. Maia sees it as somewhat overblown, though, because closer examination of his skid makes it easier to understand why he’s not discouraged.

Maia’s past three defeats came to current UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, former interim titleholder Colby Covington and upcoming title challenger Kamaru Usman. Those are the top three names in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings.

“I look in perspective and see that even though they were losses, it was to the top-level guys,” Maia said. “It’s something I need to keep in my mind. I don’t feel like my performance is dropping. I don’t feel my excitement and passion to train dropping. It was a fight. The difference is sometimes when you’re 30 years old, you lose some fights and you say, ‘Oh, it was a bad phase.’ But when you’re 41 and lose some fights they say, ‘Oh, it’s a drop in performance.’

“The trickiest thing is you cannot believe that. If you believe that, then it will be your fault. In training, I’m showing I’m improving, so I think more rationally than emotionally.”

Although Good is hardly an unworthy opponent, he is not the proven top-level contender or champion Maia has exclusively faced over the past several years. Maia said that doesn’t equal a guaranteed win, though, and he will be bringing the same level of respect into the octagon for Good as he would any other opponent.

“He’s a very good Thai boxer,” Maia said. “Strong, powerful, and he has good takedown defense. When he goes to the ground, I saw he has a good defensive guard, so he’s able to survive with the guys. It’s something I need to be very, very smart with. I know if I take him down he has some skill to defend himself on the ground.”

To hear more from Maia, check out the video above.

For more on UFC on ESPN+ 2, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.