Leon Edwards Finally Confirms Staph Infection Rumors After Eagle-Eye Fans Spot Mark on His Elbow Ahead of UFC London

Allan Binoy | 21/03/2025
Leon Edwards (L), Belal Muhammad (R)

Leon Edwards returns this weekend at UFC Fight Night 254 for a highly anticipated showdown against Sean Brady, in a high-stakes fight with aims to re-establish himself as a top contender in the division. But just days before the big fight, eagle-eyed fans spotted something concerning—a mark on Edwards’ elbow that looked suspiciously like a staph infection.

The internet was quick to explode with speculation. Could this infection throw off his training? Would it affect his performance come fight night? Staph infections are notoriously common where skin-to-skin contact and open wounds are just part of the game.

They have a reputation for derailing fighters’ momentum. Just ask Kevin Lee, who battled a nasty staph infection during his interim title fight against Tony Ferguson back in 2017. Despite putting on a gutsy performance, Lee’s compromised health clearly affected him.

However, Edwards claims to have a handle on the situation.

“I actually did have it, this is what, like 6 weeks ago. Took antibiotics for it, it’s gone. No effects cardio wise or nothing, I’m fine.”, he explained.

 

Reassuring words from the former champ, but the fact that he was dealing with an infection at all is bound to raise questions about his readiness. Some fighters are lucky and manage to treat staph before it compromises their performance. Others aren’t so fortunate. Just the mere fact of having to go through a round of antibiotics during a critical training camp is enough to throw a wrench into preparation.

Well, it certainly doesn’t seem to have had an effect on the former welterweight champion’s morale since he was seen laughing along with journalists, and having fun at arch nemesis and 170 lb champion Belal Muhammad’s expense.

Leon blames Belal for ruining media day

The former UFC champion seemed in good spirits just days ahead of his first fight since losing his title last year at UFC 304 in Manchester. He has since continued to beef with Belal, who hasn’t held back at the potshots either.

But as Leon answered the burning questions the media had to ask before his big day, something peculiar happened. The fire alarm went off, asking people not to panic since it was just a test. The entire room of reporters, including Edwards burst out laughing at the incident.

 

And then it happened again. Every time Leon would try and get back, it would stop, as if to mock him. Something seemed off and quick-witted as he is, Leon squarely blamed everything in Belal

“I was about to run now…I feel like Belal did that.”, he said while bursting out laughing.

Well, at least the staph infection didn’t ruin his sense of humor!

Post Edited By: Smrutisnat Jena
Leon Edwards

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Allan Binoy

Allan Binoy is a MMA journalist at The SportsRush. Taken to the sport in 2015, thanks to a certain Conor McGregor, Allan has himself dabbled in the martial arts. And having graduated from Loyola College, Chennai, with a degree in English Literature, he has learnt to use his love for language to have a voice in the MMA community. Allan has been writing about the gladiatorial stories for more than three years now and has pursued excellence at a number of reputable media organizations, covering every UFC PPV in the last couple of years. In addition to this, the southpaw is also a semi-professional soccer player for Diego Juniors FC in Pune, playing in the Pune Super Division League.

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