Alexander BehuninTue, January 6, 2026 at 1:34 AM UTC·1 min readNot again!
In just 19 days (Sat., Jan. 24, 2025), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will debut on Paramount+ with UFC 324, headlined by a high-stakes Lightweight clash between Justin Gaethje and No. 5-ranked Paddy Pimblett inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut with fight night quickly approaching, there could be a potential speed bump in Sin City.
Eagle-eyed fans have noticed a mysterious wound on Gaethje’s neck, sparking concern across social media.
The former interim Lightweight champion has released weekly episodes of his YouTube series, The Art of Violence, over the past month. In his most recent upload, Gaethje can be seen sporting a visible mark on his neck — and fans are already speculating that it could be a staph infection.
Others believe the wound could simply be mat herpes.
Of course, skin infections are nothing new in mixed martial arts. Plenty of fighters have entered the cage with staph — or fresh off antibiotic treatments — in recent years, sometimes winning convincingly and sometimes losing in emphatic fashion.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementStill, the timing is far from ideal. UFC 324 marks the promotion’s first main event in the Paramount+ era, and for Gaethje, it represents what could be his final opportunity to capture undisputed UFC gold.
The silver lining? Gaethje still has nearly three weeks to get healthy — and plenty of time to wipe out any infection — assuming it’s staph in the first place.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 324 click here.
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