Ilir Latifi is facing disciplinary action for an admission he made in the cage after his recent win at UFC Fight Night 211.
At a monthly Nevada Athletic Commission meeting held Tuesday, Latifi was temporarily suspended for admitting to knowingly competing with a staph infection in his Oct. 1 win vs. Aleksei Oleinik. The suspension will end when a resolution on disciplinary action is reached.
“Even this week, my leg is swollen,” Latifi told commentator Paul Felder post-fight on the broadcast. “I didn’t even tell my coaches, but I got a staph infection two days ago. As you can see, 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, actually when I woke up, my leg was swollen. I was like, ‘I can’t cancel again.’ So I had to fight like this with a fever and a staph infection. That’s part of being a fighter.”
According to the NAC, Latifi failed to inform the promotion or commission of his infection prior to admitting it on camera. The commission called the decision “risky” and added the “behavior cannot be tolerated.”
The NAC has been in touch with Latifi, whom it described as “remorseful.” Latifi will not be permitted to compete until an agreement is reached and announced.
Latifi, 40, also indicated in his in-cage interview the win over Oleinik could be his final MMA fight. If so, he finishes on a two-fight winning streak with a 16-8 overall record and 9-6 in the UFC.