If Makhachev is on antibiotics to treat a staph infection, that could seriously impact his ability to go five rounds with Poirier on Saturday. But the lightweight champion doesn’t sound worried.
Staph is running wild through MMA camps these days, chewing tiny and not-so-tiny holes in some of our favorite fighters. UFC 302 may end up being seriously impacted by the flesh-eating bacteria, as fighters in the main and co-main are suspected of fighting infections.
First it was lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, whose legs seem to bear the mark of staph. And then Paulo Costa, who seems to be hiding staph on his foot. Or maybe it’s just mat burn?
Don’t just believe us when we say it looks like staph. Listen to Georges St-Pierre’s coach and Tristar gym leader Firas Zahabi, who gave Islam his “Yep that’s staph” seal of approval.
“That’s pretty bad, yeah. That’s staph my friends,” Zahabi said in a new YouTube video. “I could tell you. I’m not a doctor, okay? I didn’t go to medical school. But I know staph when I see it. I’ve traveled all over the world, I’ve trained with thousands of people. Thousands! I can tell you a staph infection when I see it.”
“If he’s on staph meds, and the fight’s this weekend?” he added. “If that picture was this week? Damn. That’s not good news.”
Antibiotics are pretty good at getting rid of staph right up until they aren’t … Makhachev’s opponent UFC 302 opponent Dustin Poirier nearly lost a leg to antibiotic-resistant staph. You don’t need to nearly die for it to be a bad time, though. As Firas suggested, a course of antibiotics on fight week will leave you depleted and impact your cardio.
Makhachev isn’t showing any signs of weakness now that he’s in New Jersey.
“Don’t worry guys, I had a good training camp,” the lightweight champ said at the UFC 302 press conference when asked about the staph reports. “Nothing is bothering me, and I’ll be 100% on Saturday night.”