Off UFC Fight Night 34 card, Hacran Dias to have surgery on both hands

Hacran Dias is out of the UFC Fight Night 34 card with an injury, and he will have to go under the knife. Dias, who was expected to meet UFC newcomer Tatsuya Kawajiri on Jan. 4 in Marina Bay, Singapore, decided to pull out of the card after injuries in both hands forced him to stop training.

"I fought my last couple fights with both hands hurt, and I couldn’t even train anymore," Dias told MMAFighting.com. "I couldn’t close or open my hands, couldn’t hit the bag or pads, and had no grip, so I decided to have this surgery now.

"I was training (when the UFC offered me the fight), but the pain was going on and off. It only kept worse. I went to the doctor and he told me I should do the surgery."

It’s the second time the Nova Uniao fighter is forced out of a UFC fight due to injury. After a successful debut against Iuri Alcantara, Dias was set to fight Chad Mendes on Dec. 2012, but a shoulder injury sidelined him days before the fight.

Dias, who saw his UFC Fight Night 29 bout canceled after Rodrigo Damm suffered from kidney problems, expects no more surprises in the future after having surgery in both hands.

"It was a good chance for me because Kawajiri is a star in Japan," he said. "That’s the second time I have to pull out of a good fight and it makes me sad. The first time was Chad Mendes, when I hurt my shoulder, and now Kawajiri.

"I was set to fight Rodrigo Damm and then he pulled off the fight with health problems, and now I was going to fight Kawajiri, so I’m going to have this surgery so I won’t have any problems in the future."