Broken hand forces Mike Pierce out of May fight with Demian Maia, who awaits new foe

A broken hand has forced gritty welterweight Mike Pierce (17-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) out of a planned May meeting in Brazil with grappling ace Demian Maia (18-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC), who now awaits a new opponent.

MMAjunkie today learned of the injury withdrawal from sources close to the event who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss such details in public.

Pierce and Maia were expected to meet at UFC Fight Night 42, which takes place May 31 at Sao Paulo’s Ibirapuera Gymnasium. The card was expected to see Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva meet in the main event but will now instead feature Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic.

Maia, 36, looks to return to the cage after a disappointing loss to Rory MacDonald at this February’s UFC 170, which brought his record at 170 pounds to 3-2 after dropping from the middleweight class in 2012.

The onetime middleweight title challenger had looked to pit his world-class submission skills against the wrestling-centered attack of Pierce, whose four-fight win streak was snapped this past October in a quick submission loss to Rousimar Palhares.

Pierce, 33, has beaten every non-ranked opponent he’s faced inside the octagon but has fallen short to top-10 opposition. A win over Maia would have put a quality win on his UFC resume.

A timetable for Pierce’s return to action wasn’t immediately established.

For more on “UFC Fight Night 42: dos Santos vs. Miocic,” stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Mike Pierce)