Benoit St.
Denis claims he is medically cleared to fight at the upcoming
Ultimate Fighting Championship event.
St. Denis is set to take on Paddy
Pimblett in a lightweight bout in the co-main event of
UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 11.
Hawk-eyed fans recently noticed a small scar on the Frenchman’s
right foot in training videos. This instantly sparked speculation
of a staph infection, which could potentially lead to the
cancellation of the fight.
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Benoit St. Denis shuts down staph rumors before Paddy Pimblett
clash
St. Denis has assured fans that he doesn’t have a staph infection.
“God of War” claims the mark of his foot is merely a scab, which is
pretty common. He told RMC Sport Combat:
“No, not at all, I don’t have staph. Everything happens very
quickly on social media; it’s crazy. I did have a scab on my foot,
yes, but it’s not staph. That’s all it was. These are things that
can happen. But the camp was managed very well. The fatigue was
managed very well too.”
Notably, this isn’t the first time St. Denis has faced rumors of
carrying a staph infection into a fight, as this previously
happened in the lead-up to his bout against Dustin
Poirier back in 2024. Staph infections mostly lead to fight
cancellations as they are contagious. They can also become very
serious, like it did with Robert
Whittaker in 2018, spreading to his stomach.
St. Denis (17-3) is currently riding a four-fight winning streak,
all via finishes. Meanwhile, Pimblett (23-4) is coming off a loss
to Justin
Gaethje in an interim title fight, which snapped the
Englishman’s seven-fight win streak in the UFC.