This week, the UFC released the official photos of the fighters for UFC 302. In these photos, it can be noticed that both Islam Makhachev and Paulo Costa have bluish spots, which are sometimes indicative of staph infections.
Indeed, staph infections have been in the spotlight in recent months. Last March, Benoît Saint-Denis revealed, after his defeat against Dustin Poirier, that he had been hampered by a staph infection on his forehead. But what is a staph infection? These are bacteria that naturally live on the skin. They can cause an infection when they enter the skin through a cut or wound and are treated with antibiotics.
For a fighter, developing a staph infection before a fight is very bad news, as the body fights the bacteria and expends a lot of energy. This week, the UFC released the photos for UFC 302, and fans noticed something: the presence of bluish spots on Makhachev’s leg and Paulo Costa’s foot. These are symptomatic of an infection.
When asked about this at the UFC 302 press conference, Islam Makhachev assured that he was fine: “Don’t worry, guys, I had a very good training camp. Nothing bothers me, and I will be at 100% on Saturday night.” The Dagestani will face Dustin Poirier on June 2 to defend his lightweight title (-70kg), while Paulo Costa will clash with Sean Strickland in the middleweight division (-84kg).