In October, UFC heavyweight Ilir Latifi admitted, after his win over Aleksei Oleinik at UFC Vegas 61, that he had fought with an undisclosed staph an infection. On Wednesday, November sixteenth, the Nevada State Athletic Fee (NSAC) voted unanimously to suspended Latifi for 3 months for failing to inform officers of the situation earlier than the bout.
“Even this week, you see my leg is all swollen,” Latifi advised UFC commentator Paul Felder after his win over Oleinik. “I didn’t even inform my coaches, however I acquired a staph an infection two days in the past. And as you may see right here, my leg is all swollen. It’s an incredible sport however the margins are so small. You set in a lot work and this factor occurs the final day.
“Right now, truly after I awakened, my leg was swollen,” continued Latifi. “I used to be like, ‘I can’t cancel once more,’ so I needed to struggle like this with a fever and a staph an infection. However that’s a part of being a fighter.”
The NSAC quickly suspended Latifi within the days after the struggle. Wednesday’s athletic fee assembly was the group’s first likelihood to handle Latifi’s choice to compete with out disclosing the infectious sickness, which will be transmitted via person-to-person contact. Latifi put his opponent, his staff and everybody he got here into contact with in danger by not disclosing his an infection on his pre-fight medical documentation.
Latifi, who was additionally assessed $407.50 in authorized charges, is eligible to return to motion—pending a clear medical examination—on January 1, 2023.
Through the listening to, the NSAC famous that the difficulty of Latifi not disclosing his staph an infection on his pre-fight documentation was a precedent-setting motion. Beforehand, the fee had not suspended any fighter for failing to reveal an sickness or harm. The fee added that “suspensions could also be elevated and fines could also be elevated relying on the state of affairs.”
