The UFC’s return to the United Kingdom was plagued with speculation surrounding one of the main eventers for the Fight Night in London. Several reports emerged about Leon Edwards possibly heading into the fight against Sean Brady with a staph infection. As we inch closer to UFC London this weekend, let’s address the rumors surrounding ‘Rocky’s current health status.

Leon Edwards is looking to earn a title fight as soon as he can, and for that, he has to put on a dominating showcase against the dangerous Sean Brady. But these speculations surrounding an infection may have gotten his fans worried. So, let’s take it from the beginning, and look at the source of the rumor, which is an image circulating on social media.

Viral image on social media raises concerns about Leon Edwards

It’s highly unlikely that any piece of valuable information would go under the radar of eagle-eyed UFC fans, and that is especially true regarding an image of Leon Edwards. The picture in question shows the former welterweight champion training at his Team Renegade gym, presumably, with a wound on his arm that looks like an infection. Fans immediately started to speculate that it might be staph, and a fresh one at that.

There have been other detections of staph infections on fighters before they were scheduled to compete, with Sean Strickland being the most recent one. However, ‘Tarzan’ claimed that his infection had dried up way before he fought at UFC 312. So the question, judging by how his wound looks in the image, is—does ‘Rocky’ have staph infection? Well, the former champion decided to unzip his mouth and spill the beans on what the issue really is.

Edwards dismisses staph infections scare ahead of UFC Fight Night 255

Some UFC fighters tend not to admit when they’re dealing with a staph infection until the fight is done and dusted. Islam Makhachev once admitted to the same after his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302. But Leon Edwards seemingly admitted that the infection was real, but it happened almost a couple of months ago. He had taken the necessary measures to contain and heal the infection with the help of medication and was ready to go to war against Sean Brady, but then he made another interesting remark.

It seems like Leon Edwards isn’t really sure when he got that infection, and to add to the confusion, he claimed that it might have been a tooth nip. “I actually had it like this about six weeks ago. Took antibiotics for it. It’s gone. No effects cardio-wise or nothing… I was fine,” ‘Rocky’ claimed during the recent media day. “I don’t think it was a staph. It was like a bite or something, but yeah, that was six weeks ago. Nothing affected, nothing. I’m good.”

Well, you’ve seen the images online and heard the statements from the former champion himself. So, what do you make of his speculated staph infection? Is it MRSA or something else? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.