Benoit St.
Denis claims he is medically cleared to fight at the upcoming

Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

St. Denis is set to take on Paddy
Pimblett in a lightweight bout in the co-main event of
UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 11.
Hawk-eyed fans recently noticed a small scar on the Frenchman's
right foot in training videos. This instantly sparked speculation
of a staph infection, which could potentially lead to the
cancellation of the fight.

Benoit St. Denis shuts down staph rumors before Paddy Pimblett
clash

St. Denis has assured fans that he doesn't have a staph infection.
“God of War†claims the mark of his foot is merely a scab, which is
pretty common. He told RMC Sport Combat:

“No, not at all, I don't have staph. Everything happens very
quickly on social media; it's crazy. I did have a scab on my foot,
yes, but it's not staph. That's all it was. These are things that
can happen. But the camp was managed very well. The fatigue was
managed very well too.â€

Notably, this isn’t the first time St. Denis has faced rumors of
carrying a staph infection into a fight, as this previously
happened in the lead-up to his bout against Dustin
Poirier back in 2024. Staph infections mostly lead to fight
cancellations as they are contagious. They can also become very
serious, like it did with Robert
Whittaker in 2018, spreading to his stomach.

St. Denis (17-3) is currently riding a four-fight winning streak,
all via finishes. Meanwhile, Pimblett (23-4) is coming off a loss
to Justin
Gaethje in an interim title fight, which snapped the
Englishman's seven-fight win streak in the UFC.

Sean
Strickland believes Dustin
Poirier is genuinely dealing with mental health issues.

Poirier was recently arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport for threatening to fight a police officer
while drunk. Currently out on bail, the former
Ultimate Fighting Championship star has since opened up about
his alcoholism and depression.

Sean Strickland explains why he changed his opinion on Dustin
Poirier's struggles

Strickland (31-7) initially went off on Poirier (30-10) for
claiming to be depressed. The UFC middleweight champion said that
“The Diamond†has no right to be depressed as he's rich and
well-loved, while those less fortunate battle each day.

However, Strickland has since changed his stance after speaking to
Poirier. He is convinced that the former interim champion honestly
regrets his actions and isn't just trying to clean up his image in
the media. Strickland wrote on X:

“I spoke to Dustin and he is legitimately messed up by his actions
I thought he was just doing PR clean up tbh.. I guess not everyone
is a POS like me lol So yeah I repent and I am sorry Dustin. Hope
budlight does the right thing with this one. He deserves the
helpâ€

Strickland also urged Poirier's sponsor, Bud Light, not to abandon
him for this stray incident after other sponsors cut ties with him.
Another X post read:

“Let me tell you if budlight drops Dustin Im going to start
drinking just to not drink budlight Im not saying its tra**y on a
can level of un-American but this would be up there.. Budlight you
have a once in a life time opportunity to repent ðŸ™â€

I spoke to Dustin and he is legitimately
messed up by his actions

I thought he was just doing PR clean up tbh.. I guess not everyone
is a POS like me lol

So yeah I repent and I am sorry Dustin.

Hope budlight does the right thing with this one. He deserves the
help

— Sean
Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
July 7, 2026

Let me tell you if budlight drops Dustin Im
going to start drinking just to not drink budlight

Im not saying its tra**y on a can level of un-American but this
would be up there..

Budlight you have a once in a life time opportunity to repent 🙠🇺🇸
#IGBBMN

— Sean
Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
July 7, 2026

Sean
Strickland believes Dustin
Poirier is genuinely dealing with mental health issues.

Poirier was recently arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport for threatening to fight a police officer
while drunk. Currently out on bail, the former
Ultimate Fighting Championship star has since opened up about
his alcoholism and depression.

Sean Strickland explains why he changed his opinion on Dustin
Poirier's struggles

Strickland (31-7) initially went off on Poirier (30-10) for
claiming to be depressed. The UFC middleweight champion said that
“The Diamond†has no right to be depressed as he's rich and
well-loved, while those less fortunate battle each day.

However, Strickland has since changed his stance after speaking to
Poirier. He is convinced that the former interim champion honestly
regrets his actions and isn't just trying to clean up his image in
the media. Strickland wrote on X:

“I spoke to Dustin and he is legitimately messed up by his actions
I thought he was just doing PR clean up tbh.. I guess not everyone
is a POS like me lol So yeah I repent and I am sorry Dustin. Hope
budlight does the right thing with this one. He deserves the
helpâ€

Strickland also urged Poirier's sponsor, Bud Light, not to abandon
him for this stray incident after other sponsors cut ties with him.
Another X post read:

“Let me tell you if budlight drops Dustin Im going to start
drinking just to not drink budlight Im not saying its tra**y on a
can level of un-American but this would be up there.. Budlight you
have a once in a life time opportunity to repent ðŸ™â€

I spoke to Dustin and he is legitimately
messed up by his actions

I thought he was just doing PR clean up tbh.. I guess not everyone
is a POS like me lol

So yeah I repent and I am sorry Dustin.

Hope budlight does the right thing with this one. He deserves the
help

— Sean
Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
July 7, 2026

Let me tell you if budlight drops Dustin Im
going to start drinking just to not drink budlight

Im not saying its tra**y on a can level of un-American but this
would be up there..

Budlight you have a once in a life time opportunity to repent 🙠🇺🇸
#IGBBMN

— Sean
Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
July 7, 2026