Sean Brady says staph infection from a knee cut forced him out of UFC Vegas 124
Brady, who was due to headline against Gabriel Bonfim on 7 November, is now targeting the UFC's 16 January card in Dallas.
Sean Brady has said a staph infection, which he believes started from a small cut on his knee, forced him out of his UFC Vegas 124 main event against Gabriel Bonfim.
Speaking on his podcast, The BradyBags Show, Brady said his training camp had gone to plan until last week, when his knee swelled up after a Tuesday session. "By nine o'clock at night, I couldn't walk," he said. He said he knew it was an infection rather than bursitis, which he has dealt with before.
Doctors had to wait for the bacteria to grow before they could identify the infection, and confirmed days later that it was staph. Brady had hoped to have the knee drained and still fight, and showed photos on the podcast of the swollen knee and of it being drained repeatedly. It is the same knee he hurt before his TKO loss to Michael Morales last November.
Brady said he pushed the UFC to let him fight again this year, but the remaining 2026 events were either not an option for him or already full, so he is targeting the 16 January card in Dallas. He also thinks the UFC could rebook the Bonfim fight, given the lack of other options at the top of the welterweight division.
"I feel for Bonfim too. It sucks, man ... I know he was putting in the training camp, trust me, and that's what sucks. I did a ten week training camp for this," he said.
Brady (19-2) was coming off a win over Joaquin Buckley, while Bonfim (20-1) has won five fights in a row, including a win over former champion Belal Muhammad. Johnny Walker against Waldo Cortes-Acosta is reportedly the new main event at the Meta APEX, journalist Laerte Viana reported on X. The UFC has not announced the fight.
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