UFC News: Former Champion Junior Dos Santos Fought Life-Threatening Infection

Former UFC champion “Cigano” Junior Dos Santos was pulled from a fight with Alexander Volkov last October. Junior believed then that he will be able to fight through the infection. However, his decision to see a doctor about the cellulitis infection proved to be a wiser choice. Initially, the former champion thought that the infection would be treated in time for him to make the fight. That was not the case though and Volkov ended up fighting multi-sport athlete Greg Hardy instead.

Dos Santos who is know fixed up and ready to go will fight Curtis Blaydes in the main event of UFC Raleigh on January 25. In speaking with MMAfighting Junior Dos Santos was able to shed light on the severity of his leg infection. Simply put, he called it “extremely serious.” When he was admitted to the ICU he had no idea the actual danger he was in. It was not until a doctor took the time to shed light on the matter.

According to Junior the cellulitis could have had his leg removed, even worse, it was fatal. Fortunately, being an athlete meant that he kept his body healthy and it was instrumental in his recovery. On the whole matter

Cigano had this to say, “I saw a movie in my head of everything I had dodged. It’s hard to explain how fragile we are.”

Now, that the former champ is doing well he is more cautious about his health. Before taking the fight with Curtis Blaydes he made sure to consult with his physicians first. However, given his clearance, fans can anticipate a 5 round clash between the two fighters.

The bout will be the 35-year-old Dos Santos’ 7th straight UFC main event. Getting the fight he said was a great morale booster. Still, the training proved to be tough considering he had to avoid kicks for a while. With a record of 21-6 Cigano looks to get back to his winning ways in Raleigh. In his way is no. 3 ranked contender Blaydes who is looking to keep his momentum going after victories over Justin Willis and Shamil Abdurakhimov.