After going his first 19 fights in the UFC without ever pulling out of an announced bout, Demian Maia has hit a tough skid.
Maia was scheduled to fight Mike Pyle at UFC Fight Night 49 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last Saturday night. But on Aug. 6 he was forced from the card when he suffered a bone bruise in his shoulder while training, which later developed a staph infection. That staph infection has now led to a bone infection, which hospitalized the Brazilian welterweight this past week.
Maia’s manager Eduardo Alfonso told UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani that Maia is being treated for osteomyelitis, a serious bone infection commonly caused by bacteria. Alfonso said that the infection is on Maia’s right clavicle bone, and will require a six-week antibiotics treatment through IVs, and then follow with a course orally.
Alfonso said that Maia was readmitted into the hospital last Tuesday, and was released on Friday. The details of his condition are harrowing. As explained by Helwani on the show, Maia had a catheter installed through his right arm near his heart. He is currently back at home in Brazil, but a nurse visits his house twice a day to care for him.
Maia will undergo this treatment for five weeks, and then doctors will reassess his condition and determine how long he’ll be out of fighting for.
Maia last fought at the Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 finale in May, when he defeated Alexander Yakovlev via unanimous decision in Brazil. Before then the 36-year old jiu-jitsu ace had lost consecutive fights to Jake Shields and Rory MacDonald, after winning three in a row since dropping to compete as a welterweight.