UFC fans are in a panic as a recent picture of bantamweight title challenger Merab Dvalishvili appeared to reveal a nasty staph-like infection on his arm.
Last month, Dvalishvili made headlines after revealing that he suffered a cut above his right eye while training for his UFC 306 headliner against 135-pound king ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley at Sphere in Las Vegas. Fortunately, the cut was nothing more than a minor nuisance for Dvalishvili—and also Dana White who ripped into the Georgian for disclosing the cut to the entire world on social media.
Since then, ‘The Machine’ has released another video of him removing the stitches himself with a pair of scissors designed for a variety of uses, one of them not being medical.
But just as Dvalishvili’s cut appeared to no longer be a concern, the MMA community is now speculating that ‘The Machine’ could be suffering from a staph infection after a photo showed a curious-looking mark on his left arm.
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Dvalishvili has not yet addressed the rumors, but that didn’t stop fans from running rampant in the comments.
“A guy who takes out his own stitches has a staph infection, that’s no surprise,” one commenter wrote. “But Merab is the type of guy to still make it to the fight even if he’s compromised. This is good news for Sean it means Merab’s cardio will be compromised and cardio is Merabs biggest weapon.”
Another suggested that staph or no staph, the result will be the same.
“He’s getting flatlined regardless,” a user added.
Staph or No Staph, Merab Dvalishvili Unlikely to Withdraw from UFC 306 Title Fight
Even if it is a staph infection, it’s highly unlikely that Dvalishvili will back out of his first title opportunity. Riding a 10-fight win streak spanning eight years, it’s taken a lot of time and work for ‘The Machine’ to get here and we simply can’t see him back out at the 11th hour—especially in a fight he’s currently favored to win.
O’Malley, who had a few things to say about Dvalishvili’s cut controversy, has not yet commented on the suspected staph infection, but chances are we’ll hear ‘Sugar’ and his longtime coach, Tim Welch, address any concerns they have on the next edition of their TimboSugarShow podcast.
Until then, you can check out a video clip of Dvalishvili training with the alleged injury on full display via the YouTube video below:
