Kevin Lee’s staph infection at UFC 216 was a big topic in the MMA community during and after Lee’s main event bout with Tony Ferguson.
Upon entering the cage, UFC commentator Joe Rogan noticed a red blemish on Lee’s chest and speculated that it may have been a staph infection.
It’s all anyone wanted to talk about. Unfortunately for Daniel Cormier, he couldn’t talk about it. On his podcast Talk and Talker, Cormier explained that the UFC production team didn’t want them mentioning Lee’s staph on air.
“We’re on air and Rogan goes, ‘Is that staph?’ Somebody in my ear, I don’t know who it is, goes, ‘Don’t say nothing.’ I was like, what the hell, do I address this or do I not saying anything? I was like, ‘It is.’ I couldn’t help myself. I go, ‘It is staph.’”
Cormier went on to say that Lee’s staph was at an advanced level due to how big, red, and puffy it had become. He also said that he knew Lee was screwed when he saw it, knowing that his cardio wouldn’t be up to par due to the antibiotics that he was on.
The warning from the UFC production team may have made Cormier a bit hesitant to go into those details on the air.
Following the bout, Lee confirmed to Rogan and everyone else watching that he was dealing with a staph infection. The infection not only sapped his energy during the fight, it made the weight cut tougher for him. The Nevada Athletic Commission claims that Lee was medically fit to fight.
