UFC London might just be in jeopardy! Yes, you heard that right! And the reason inches towards a staph infection. Just three days before the showdown between Leon Edwards and Sean Brady at the O2 Arena, London, the internet boomed with rumors of the former UFC welterweight champion having a staph infection. But what pushed the netizens to make such speculations?
Well, the rumors began with a picture of ‘Rocky’ training for the big event against the #5 welterweight contender. In that photograph, the lower part of Edwards’ right elbow seemed to have a blister-like injury. Yes, it looked way too similar to the blisters fighters get from a staph infection. And that pushed the famed MMA content creator, Krazy Kevin, to point out the possible problem for Dana White’s UFC London. He shared the picture on X and wrote, “Could Leon Edwards Have A Staph Infection for #UFCLondon,” followed by a thinking face emoji. On the other hand, such a blister can also happen due to extensive training, especially while working on one’s ground game. The friction with the mats often causes blisters on the skin. And these blisters can be mistaken for a staph-infected wound.
As we all know, the world of combat sports is plagued with staph infections. It’s because of the abundant presence of the germ, Staphylococcus aureus. On top of that, S. aureus finds its way into the human system through an opening in the skin. That means it can infect only if it’s brought into contact with an opening on the skin, like a cut, a minute wound, etc. And MMA’s close contact nature makes the disease a common problem in the sport. The infection had even put Robert Whittaker and Dustin Poirier in the hospital.
Could Leon Edwards Have A Staph Infection for #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/KREA01ktvQ
— Kevin (@realkevink) March 19, 2025
Usually, staph infection comes with a fever and develops on the skin in the form of painful pus-filled blisters and isn’t really that invasive. But if it invades, it can be life-threatening. However, maintaining good personal hygiene and cleaning the training gear can prevent staph infections. Even though it’s a preventable disease, there are instances when fighters actively try to hide their infections. We’re indeed talking about the incident at UFC 294. Let’s take a look at the incident and see what the UFC head honcho had to say about it.
Dana White warns staph-infected fighters long before rumors of Leon Edwards’ injury went viral
At UFC 294, Victoria Dudakova and Mike Breeden came into the spotlight for hiding staph infections. Hiding the infection and competing did put everyone who came in contact with the fighters at risk of infection. Needless to say, this infuriated the UFC CEO. During the post-fight press conference, he pointed out that it wasn’t the medical team’s fault. After all, one can’t figure out the infection in a short fraction of time without any blood report. The only way the officials can know about the infection is if the fighters say so themselves.
Weighing in on that, Dana White said, “No [we’re not going to change medicals]. I mean, if you look at how many fights … we basically do fights every single Saturday. Here’s one of the things: if you’re going to lie and hide injuries like that, lie all the way home.” Of course, lying and putting everyone else at risk didn’t sit well with the 55-year-old fight promoter. He continued, “Why are you going to lie and do that and then sit up here and say, ‘I had a staph infection?’ It’s just a very f—— weird thing to do, to be honest with you. Very weird.”
Training or competing with an active staph infection is a dangerous act. It can cause the infection to spread across a larger population. Hence, the athletes should refrain from competing or training till they’re cleared of the germ. And to do that, they have to undergo antibiotic therapy. Daptomycin, linezolid, oxacillin, and cefazolin are the common antibiotics prescribed for treating staph infections. And vancomycin is used when the infection is a bit more severe. With all that in mind, if Leon Edwards really has a staph infection, he won’t be able to compete. And White would have to pull some strings to find a replacement.
What are your thoughts on Edwards’ injury? Do you think it’s a staph infection? Or is it just a blister that he got from grinding on the mats? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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