Dana White Rips UFC 294 Fighters For Hiding Staph Infections: ‘It’s A Very F—king Weird Thing To Do’

Staph infections were all over UFC 294. Yuck.

UFC 294 went down yesterday (Sat., Oct. 21, 2023), and on top of Islam Makhachev starching Alexander Volkanovski in the first round (watch highlights), there were some nasty, dangerous, selfish decisions made on the “Prelims.” Two fighters admitted they fought with staph infections after they won their fight.

First, Russian strawweight Victoria Dudakova admitted having a staph infection and that it had burst by the time her fight ended.

Literally, two fights later, Mike Breeden commanded an incredible comeback knockout over Anshul Jubli and then, during his post-fight interview, admitted he fought with staph.

Both fighters also missed weight on Fri.

As expected, the entire mixed martial arts (MMA) community was disgusted with Dudakova and Breeden. UFC CEO Dana White was dumbfounded that the fighters lied and then admitted it to the media.

“No [we’re not going to change medicals]. I mean, if you look at how many fights- we basically do fights every single Saturday,” White told the media during the UFC post-fight press conference. “Here’s one of the things: if you’re gonna lie and hide injuries like that, lie all the way home. Why are you gonna lie and do that and then sit up here and say, ‘I had a staph infection.’ It’s just a very f—king weird thing to do, to be honest with you. Very weird.’

Former Middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa was pulled from the co-main event because he had staph, which left him hospitalized.

Not only is staph infection incredibly dangerous and can lead to death, it is highly contagious. The fighters who fought with it could have passed it on to other fighters on the card, teammates, coaches, and the UFC staff.

The bottom line is that Dudakova and Breeden were super selfish and very short-sighted.

For complete UFC 294 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.