MMA
Irresponsibility and a major health risk. UFC stars concealed staph and fought despite infection, Russian admits problems. What did Dana White say?
UFC 294 offered great fights, but there were also controversial moments and some unpleasant information during the tournament. At least two stars were not supposed to fight at the tournament at all. What about Dana White?
UFC 294 offered great fights, but there were also controversial moments and some unpleasant information during the tournament. At least two stars were not supposed to fight at the tournament at all. What about Dana White?
On Saturday night, UFC 294 took place in Abu Dhabi. There are many topics to discuss after the gala. Worth mentioning are the reaction to Islam Makhachev’s win, Paul Costa’ s assault by fans, Alexander Volkanovski’ s admission of mental health issues, and the controversial termination by doctors.
To make matters worse, the head of the organization Dana White had to face the question about the fact that a couple of fighters lied about their health condition, which not only put themselves at risk, but also put other participants of the gala at risk.
While it would have been irresponsible if they had lied about an injury, they only put themselves at risk. Unfortunately, they concealed the staph infection, which, by the way, was the reason why Paulo Costa, who was supposed to challenge Khamzat Chimaev, did not show up.
The Brazilian has already undergone three surgeries due to the infection, and even showed off photos of what such a staph infection can cause.
Dana White is not happy about it. Who lied?
The first to admit to lying was Russian hopeful Victoria Dudakova. She had trouble just meeting the weight limit, which she ultimately didn’t fit into. She even fainted during the crash, which only shows that she was not in a good shape.
However, the 24-year-old fighter managed to defeat Jinh Yu Frey after a three-round battle on points. It was after the fight that she spoke about having a staph infection.
“I’m happy that I kept the fight standing. I have to say that I wasn’t able to wrestle and let me explain why. I caught a staph infection last month. My back, my butt… They’re completely bloody now. I have staph. Plus, in places that are not quite okay to announce to the world,” Yahoo Sports quotes her as saying.
Dudakova revealed that the doctors were upset with her for not admitting it during her pre-match checkup: ” I didn’t say it because they wouldn’t let me fight. I didn’t want to. I didn’t even take antibiotics because I wouldn’t have been able to catch my breath in the cage.”
The other sinner was Mike Breeden, who beat Anshula Jubli. Like the Russian, he also had trouble making the weight class. In addition, his left eye was visibly damaged when he entered the cage. He also admitted the infection after the fight.
Staph infection can be contagious and very dangerous for other fighters. It’s a situation the UFC definitely needs to address. The head of the organization, Dana White, has also spoken out about the sinners.
You can’t tell from his reaction that he was happy. “If you’re lying and hiding injuries like that, you’re lying all the way home,” he let it be heard. His words didn’t exactly please the public, as they sounded somewhat indifferent given the gravity of the situation.
On the other hand, however, both Dudakova and Breeden will find a few supporters. However, that’s primarily because of how low the payouts are in the UFC if you’re not one of the biggest aces.
Source: UFC, MMA Fighting