The rising star that you’ve heard the least about in combat sports over the last few years is undoubtedly the staph infection. It’s made appearances during reality television, afflicting Kenny Florian and others during the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. More recently cases have been reported among such names as Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, and Cole Escovedo.

Staph can kill.

This special episode of The FightWorks Podcast is dedicated to educating our listeners about the very real dangers of staph infections for combat sports participants. We replay one of our most important conversations we’ve ever had on the show in which we speak with a representative from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Afterwards, we’ll talk with FightWorks Podcast cohost Dan about his recent encounter with the bacteria.

Finally, we wind down with an installment of The BlackBelt Corner with Carlson Gracie Sr. black belt Rodrigo Medeiros.