Remember the day before UFC 69 when I reported the possibility that Diego Sanchez was taken off the fight card because he had tested positive for Hepatitis-C?
Well, it appears that my report wasn’t entirely incorrect. Dave Meltzer from WrestlingObserver.com gave a recap of Dana White’s press conference this morning. Here is what Meltzer had to say:
[Dana White] Said that before the Koscheck fight, that Diego Sanchez was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. At first he was planning on announcing his retirement before the show, but further tests revealed he didn’t have it, but they didn’t know what it was. Said after the fight with Koscheck he was finally found to have had a major staph infection, explaining his inability in the ring that night.
We do know that Diego had a major staph infection after UFC 69 and had to have a large section of staph extracted from his leg. A major staph infection can raise your liver functions and liver enzymes to a level that might appear to be hepatitis-c during tests.
My problem is this: if there was even the slightest question in anyones mind of the possibility that Diego had hepatitis-c, HE SHOULD NOT HAVE FOUGHT. That is not at all appropriate to Josh Koscheck, his opponent, or anyone else who was fighting in the octagon after him that night. My guess, and hope, is that Diego was completely cleared of the positive test well before the fight took place.
Also of note during the press conference:
There will be a major main event announced at the end of UFC 71. It will involve the Chuck Liddell vs. Quinton Jackson winner and a challenge that will be issued for a dream match scenario. It will be the first so-called Super Bowl match (my words not his). At another point, White talked about Shogun Rua being signed, but our impression is that it’s another match. Doing the math, the opponent they are talking about is probably one of these three names–Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson or Rua.
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Tags: UFC, MMA, UFC 69, Diego Sanchez
(via MMA HQ - Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis)