Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos was supposed to face Alexander Volkov late last year at UFC Fight Night Moscow, but a leg infection caused the fighter to be pulled from the card.
It appears that the leg infection was much more serious than one would think because it could’ve killed the former heavyweight champion.
“It was extremely serious,” Dos Santos told MMA Fighting. “I spent a week in the hospital thinking that I would get cleared and fight [Volkov], but the doctor came to me and said, ‘You don’t understand how serious this is.’ He said I was lucky to be a healthy man and that I went to the hospital soon enough, otherwise I could have gone straight to ICU. I could have lost my leg or even died. The first thing that came to my head were my kids and my family, how fragile we are. I was feeling great, strong, happy, training for a fight… Everything going right, and all of a sudden this happens. It was a huge blow.”
JDS appears to be recovering well from the infection and is facing Curtis Blaydes later this month at UFC Fight Night Raleigh.
The Brazilian star is now ready to get back and do some work in a very dangerous UFC Heavyweight Division.
“I don’t choose opponents and never will,” Dos Santos said. “I’m here to fight the best because I truly believe I can regain this belt and I will regain this belt. It’s a matter of time and hard work. This division is very dangerous. There’s a lot of hard work to be done, and I’m ready to work.”
UFC Fight Night Raleigh takes place on Saturday, January 25 from the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina with Curtis Blaydes and Junior Dos Santos headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+.
