UFC heavyweight Ilir Latifi has been suspended for three months after he failed to disclose an infection ahead of his win in October.
The heavyweight star had been on a streak of three losses until February 2020 when he defeated Tanner Boser in his comeback after a year out in 2021. Latifi then fought and defeated Aleksei Oleinik by unanimous decision during a contest in October as he looks to continue his revival at heavyweight.
Latifi showed his dominance throughout the fight but declared after the final bell that he had been suffering a staph infection - which is a condition which has an effect on the skin. And during the UFC's monthly meeting yesterday, it has been confirmed that 'The Sledgehammer' will be out of action until the new year.
He will eligible to compete again after January 1, 2023 and he will also be required to pay $407.50 in legal fees to resolve the case. Latifi will also need to complete a clean medical exam before taking on his next challenge at heavyweight in the new year.
The Swedish star even revealed after the fight he had failed to disclose the information to his coach prior to making the walk to the octagon. “Even this week you see my leg is all swollen, I didn’t even tell my coaches but I’ve got a staph infection two days ago,” Latifi said when addressing the media after UFC Vegas 61.
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“As you can see here, my leg is all swollen. It’s an amazing sport but the margins are so small. You put in so much work and this thing happens the last day. Today when I woke up, my leg was swollen and I was like I can’t cancel again so I had to fight like this with a fever and a staph infection but that’s part of being a fighter.”
The decision to withhold the information was determined to be potentially life-threatening by the Nevada Athletic Commission given the disease can pose a risk to life when at its most severe. The commission declared after action was taken that fighters should not keep information on diseases and infections to themselves, with punishments and fines set to become tougher after Latifi's rule break.
