Demian Maia Out Indefinitely With Bone Infection
No. 7-ranked UFC welterweight Demian Maia was recently forced out of his previously scheduled UFC Fight Night 49 bout versus Mike Pyle with a staph infection.
The infection was initially thought to be a relatively normal occurrence MMA, where fighters come into contact with ton of bacteria from training mats and other equipment. However, on this evening’s UFC Tonight, Ariel Helwani revealed that Maia’s staph infection turned into something much worse:
“I spoke to Demian Maia’s manager Eduardo Alonso, who told me that Maia has been diagnosed with a bone infection in his right clavicle bone. Now this is called osteomyelitis, which is an infection that is made worse by some kind of bacteria or germ. If you recall, he was supposed to fight this past weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma, against Mike Pyle. He withdrew from that fight due to a staph infection.
Well, it got worse, and he was re-admitted to the hospital last Tuesday, stayed there for several days, was released on Friday, and that’s when they determined it did get worse; he now has a bone infection.
He is going to be taking IV antibiotics for the next six weeks or so; afterwards he might have to take oral antibiotics. They don’t know when he’ll be ready to return, they’re going to reassess things after the six weeks. He’s hoping to come back sooner rather than later, but right now, he’s out indefinitely.”
An unfortunate finding for Maia, who has a nurse come to his home twice a day to administer care to him.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu wiz was last seen defeating Alexander Yakovlev at May 31’s The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Brazil 3 Finale. The win got the former middleweight title challenger back on track after consecutive defeats at the hands of Rory MacDonald and Jake Shields at UFC 170 and UFC Fight Night 29, respectively.
Prior to the two-fight skid, Maia had stormed onto the welterweight title picture by defeating Jon Fitch, Rick Story, and Dong Hyun Kim. We here at LowKick MMA wish Maia a fast and effective return to the cage.
Photo: Jason Silva for USA TODAY Sports
