Don’t worry!
No. 5-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis returns to action this weekend against former interim title challenger Paddy Pimblett in the co-main event of UFC 329, which goes down Sat., July 11, 2026, inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
But before fight night, “God of War” had to shut down a very familiar concern.
Late last week, eagle-eyed fans noticed a mysterious wound on Saint-Denis’ ankle and immediately jumped to the conclusion that the French
madman was once again dealing with a staph infection ahead of a major fight.
Not so fast.
According to Saint-Denis, there is nothing to worry about.
“No, I don’t have staph,” Saint-Denis told RMC Sport Combat. “Things can move very quickly on social media now, and it gets a bit ridiculous. I did have a scab on my foot, yes, but it’s not staph.”
“That’s all it was,” Saint-Denis continued. “These are things that can happen. But the camp was managed very well. The fatigue was managed very well too.”
Of course, the concern did not come out of nowhere.
Saint-Denis has dealt with staph speculation before, including ahead of UFC 315 when fans noticed a nasty wound on his head. More notably, he admitted to fighting through a staph infection when he collided with Dustin Poirier, a fight he ultimately lost by knockout (watch highlights).
So, yeah, fans were probably going to overanalyze any mark on his body this week.
Still, Saint-Denis insists this one is just a scab.
And as of now, his co-main event clash with “The Baddy” remains good to go.
