“The Machine” wants everyone to chill out.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili puts his title on the line for the first time at UFC 311 this weekend (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025) against No. 2 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov inside the brand-new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.
As you know by now, before every big fight, there is a group of mixed martial arts (MMA) fans that scour the internet (or official UFC fight week portraits) for instances of staph infection and then make a big deal out of it whether it’s real or not.
Well, like clockwork, it happened again, and for “The Machine,” it is his second straight fight in which he’s had staph rumors.
Dvalishvili’s picture came out and down on his lower right leg; there is a clear injury—but it is not staph. It’s a nasty cut that the Gerogian sustained during training camp.
“Merab has staph infection”
I’m not sure it’s an infection, looks more like a nasty cut that is healing. Knowing Merab though, he could have easily gotten it infected but just looks like a nasty scar healing. #UFC311
— The Don’s MMA (@DonChuyMMA) January 16, 2025
During UFC 311 media day (watch here), Dvalishvili revealed he did, in fact, get injured but downplayed it by saying he is more than good to go.
“I was in Vegas because Aljo [Sterling] was fighting Movsar Evloev, and in training, I was always dealing with some injuries,” Dvalisvili said. “But once I heard the UFC needs me, I stepped up and told Dana [White] yes. I go to his office and I said, ‘OK, I will step up. I’m a company man; let’s do it. [My injury won’t affect] the fight; it was affecting my training. I will post it after the fight, but training was difficult because of this injury. But I’m good. I’m ready now. It’s all good.”
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 311 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early Disney+/FX/ESPN+ preliminary card matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining four-fight undercard balance on Disney+/ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 311 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 311: “Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 311 fight card and PPV lineup click here.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
