‘Burned’ Costa Blames Mat (Not Staph) For Open Wound

Paulo Costa is FINE … aside from a few mat burns.
“The Eraser” claims the open wound on his foot came from aggressive training — not staph infection — ahead of his UFC 302 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, where Costa battles …



Paulo Costa is FINE … aside from a few mat burns.

“The Eraser” claims the open wound on his foot came from aggressive training — not staph infection — ahead of his UFC 302 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, where Costa battles former middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

“I haven’t Staph it’s only burned skin on the mat,” Costa wrote on Twitter. “I’m ok mtfks.”

UFC 302 goes down tomorrow night (Sat., June 1, 2024) at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with Islam Makhachev defending his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in the PPV main event.

Like Costa, Makhachev also faced accusations of Staph infection ahead of the promotion’s return to “The Garden State” but as of this writing, there doesn’t appear to be any cause for concern, at least in terms of either bout being in jeopardy.

Makhachev insists he will be “100 percent” on fight night.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 302 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 302 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.