Islam Makhachev must be in top gear to retain his undisputed gold this weekend. He meets former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier at UFC 302. In the headliner, the lightweight champion puts his hardware on the line for a third defense. Co-main event fighter Paulo Costa partakes in a pivotal middleweight scrap. Eagle-eyed X users noted signs of staph on both during Fight Week.
Former lightweight title holder and aptly descriptive ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor was among the first few. In a since-deleted tweet, he went scorched earth, dissing Makhachev with brash cultural insinuations. With the delicate nature of contact sports, Staphylococcus infection, or staph – remains a danger. Nevertheless, Makhachev has assured fans that it did not bother him.
Don’t worry guys, I had a [very good] training camp…Nothing bothering me, and I’ll be 100 percent on Saturday night…
Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 pre-fight Media Day conference
During UFC 302 Media Day, the Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky, presented Makhachev with a “Drug-Free” 50 test jacket. He now enters the PPV event with a clean bill of health. While it’s unclear if there were medical tests near the vicinity, Islam Makhachev looked tested and infection-free.
Conor McGregor reacts to Islam Makhachev suffering a potential staph infection ahead of his UFC 302 title defence 👀 pic.twitter.com/2o4zSjSfvz
— Lewis Simpson (@LewisSimpsonMMA) May 30, 2024
The whole discourse took place during the ceremonial and famed UFC 302 “Embedded,” Vlog Series, Episode No. 5. Neither the 32-year old nor his co-main Paulo Costa looked worse for the wear during the lead-up to the press conference. This video also entailed Dustin Poirier and Makhachev going at it with a fiery face-off. Staph or no staph, the flame is lit for the title clash.
UFC 302 – Curse of the Staph: ‘Burned’ Paulo Costa shoots down false rumors
Dustin Poirier pitches in his last effort to capture undisputed gold at UFC 302 soon. The UFC veteran meets reigning P4P and lightweight king Islam Makhachev in the main event. In the featured co-main event, Paulo Costa battles former middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
Paulo Costa (Via UFC.com)UFC 302 “Embedded,” Vlog Series, Episode No. 5 saw the fighters pose with their new “3Eight” and “5Eight” Official Fight Gloves, with the Layfette lightweight sporting his new shorts. Eagle-eyed enthusiasts saw marks of open wound infections on the bare legs of Makhachev and the Brazillian middleweight. They have dispelled the rumors; Costa even uploaded vivid imagery to post about what had occurred.
I haven’t Staph it’s only burned skin on the mat, I’m ok mtfks…
Paulo Costa vis X (@BorrachinhaMMA)
With Conor McGregor immediately diagnosing the headlining champion with staph earlier, tension was high as it is. ‘The Eraser’ was already a victim of three subsequent staph elbow surgeries at UFC 294. Another one would only add to his “Pullout-Costa” resume.
However, later training sessions during UFC 302 “Embedded,” Vlog Series, Episode No. 5 show both fighters cleaner. ‘Borrachinha‘ even did a little hallway dance collab with Ailin Perez later, and yet again saw him in perfect form. As of now, the card moves forward on safer legs; all staph puns are intended.
