UFC 302: Curse Of The Staph Infection?

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC 302 might just be suffering a very specific curse.

Earlier this week, Islam Makhachev’s fight week photos caused a panic amongst the fanbase, as there’s a mysterious hole on his shin bone. Conor McGregor immediately diagnosed the wound as staph, attacking the entire Dagestan crew for failing to wash themselves and their mats. Makhachev denied the accusations, but it hasn’t stopped concern from rising ahead of his title defense against Dustin Poirier, which is scheduled as the UFC 302 main event.

Now, there’s additional worry surrounding the co-main event. Once again, fight week photos have circulated, and this time eagle-eyed fight fans noticed something wonky about Paulo Costa’s left foot. There’s a visible wound, and another fan online spotted previous footage of Costa wrapping up the wound with a covering.

Reactions online were mixed. Some believe it’s a staph infection, while others like UFC Middleweight contender Chris Curtis argued “That’s a mat burn.” Here’s a sample of the reactions from X:

Bratha, whole card have staph

That thing is huge man

So he aint calf kicking which was an advantage to beating Sean.

Paulo is incapable of staph. Secret juice kill all staph.

Staff infections boutta 10-7 this whole card

Looks more like leprosy

Bro they don’t sanitize the gyms?

There are a lot of reasons for concern here. Primarily, Paulo Costa was forced to withdraw from his planned bout versus Khamzat Chimaev after multiple staph-related complications, including a gaping hole in his elbow. Staph has a tricky habit of recurring, and if Costa’s training environment resulted in an infection once, another case is certainly possible.

Not long ago, fans speculated about Benoit Saint Denis’ forehead and were later proven correct. Saint Denis’ conditioning was obviously affected, which didn’t help his chances against Dustin Poirier, who knocked him flat in the second round.

Hopefully, Costa and Makhachev are entering their UFC 302 matches in better shape.

Insomnia

This clip made me so nostalgic.

back training with Jason Parillo!

Islam Makhachev goes to war with modern day slang.

Speaking of a confounded Lightweight kingpin, Daniel Cormier also threw off Makhachev …

a fast knockout loss at the hands of Carlos Ulberg. Murzakanov is dangerous though!

Shavkat Rakhmonov doesn’t sound very interested in squaring off with Joaquin Buckley.

Staph, staph, and more staph! The unfortunate reality of wrestling on mats all the time.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Niko Price vs. Alex Morono 2 is going to be a banger, no two ways about it.

I’ve never claimed to be a boxing expert, so this is a genuine question: why did this happen?

A cartoon level left hook counter KO:

Random Land

Interesting ways to get better (at interesting sports)!

Midnight Music: A cover I had never heard before.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

LIVE! Watch UFC 302 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

’GARDEN STATE’ SHOWDOWN! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Sat., June 1, 2024, featuring Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, locking horns with 155-pound legend and No. 4-seeded contender, Dustin Poirier, in the pay-per-view (PPV) main event of the evening. UFC 302’s co-headliner features an action-packed, 185-pound scrap between No. 1-ranked contender, Sean Strickland, squaring off with Brazilian beefcake, Paulo Costa, in a five-round special attraction. UFC 302’s PPV main card (see it here) will also feature Kevin Holland vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk, Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov and so much more. It’s must-watch action! UFC 302 start time scheduled for 6:15 p.m. ET (Prelims) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV).

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC 302 might just be suffering a very specific curse.

Earlier this week, Islam Makhachev’s fight week photos caused a panic amongst the fanbase, as there’s a mysterious hole on his shin bone. Conor McGregor immediately diagnosed the wound as staph, attacking the entire Dagestan crew for failing to wash themselves and their mats. Makhachev denied the accusations, but it hasn’t stopped concern from rising ahead of his title defense against Dustin Poirier, which is scheduled as the UFC 302 main event.

Now, there’s additional worry surrounding the co-main event. Once again, fight week photos have circulated, and this time eagle-eyed fight fans noticed something wonky about Paulo Costa’s left foot. There’s a visible wound, and another fan online spotted previous footage of Costa wrapping up the wound with a covering.

Reactions online were mixed. Some believe it’s a staph infection, while others like UFC Middleweight contender Chris Curtis argued “That’s a mat burn.” Here’s a sample of the reactions from X:

Bratha, whole card have staph

That thing is huge man

So he aint calf kicking which was an advantage to beating Sean.

Paulo is incapable of staph. Secret juice kill all staph.

Staff infections boutta 10-7 this whole card

Looks more like leprosy

Bro they don’t sanitize the gyms?

There are a lot of reasons for concern here. Primarily, Paulo Costa was forced to withdraw from his planned bout versus Khamzat Chimaev after multiple staph-related complications, including a gaping hole in his elbow. Staph has a tricky habit of recurring, and if Costa’s training environment resulted in an infection once, another case is certainly possible.

Not long ago, fans speculated about Benoit Saint Denis’ forehead and were later proven correct. Saint Denis’ conditioning was obviously affected, which didn’t help his chances against Dustin Poirier, who knocked him flat in the second round.

Hopefully, Costa and Makhachev are entering their UFC 302 matches in better shape.

Insomnia

This clip made me so nostalgic.

back training with Jason Parillo!

Islam Makhachev goes to war with modern day slang.

Speaking of a confounded Lightweight kingpin, Daniel Cormier also threw off Makhachev …

a fast knockout loss at the hands of Carlos Ulberg. Murzakanov is dangerous though!

Shavkat Rakhmonov doesn’t sound very interested in squaring off with Joaquin Buckley.

Staph, staph, and more staph! The unfortunate reality of wrestling on mats all the time.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Niko Price vs. Alex Morono 2 is going to be a banger, no two ways about it.

I’ve never claimed to be a boxing expert, so this is a genuine question: why did this happen?

A cartoon level left hook counter KO:

Random Land

Interesting ways to get better (at interesting sports)!

Midnight Music: A cover I had never heard before.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

LIVE! Watch UFC 302 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

’GARDEN STATE’ SHOWDOWN! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Sat., June 1, 2024, featuring Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, locking horns with 155-pound legend and No. 4-seeded contender, Dustin Poirier, in the pay-per-view (PPV) main event of the evening. UFC 302’s co-headliner features an action-packed, 185-pound scrap between No. 1-ranked contender, Sean Strickland, squaring off with Brazilian beefcake, Paulo Costa, in a five-round special attraction. UFC 302’s PPV main card (see it here) will also feature Kevin Holland vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk, Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov and so much more. It’s must-watch action! UFC 302 start time scheduled for 6:15 p.m. ET (Prelims) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV).

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!