New York, NY — John Castaneda had a staph infection a few weeks out from UFC 295, which led to a catchweight being booked for his fight with Kyung-Ho Kang.
Castaneda (21-6), who picked up a unanimous decision win inside the famed Madison Square Garden, revealed the news backstage, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. He also explained that while he was ready to make the bantamweight limit, he’d opted to request the catchweight.
“I’m a big proponent of ‘a closed mouth never gets fed.’ So I asked a good amount, I think probably like two weeks in advance. And I actually think it didn’t get confirmed til probably about a week out.”
Castaneda wasn’t feeling any effects of the infection during the fight, having beat it earlier in training. “I would have pulled out if I was feeling any side effects during training camp. I’ve actually fought, you guys remember my fight with Daniel Santos, I had a staph infection there as well. That one actually did zap me during camp, I thought ‘maybe I’ll shake it during the fight,’ but it zapped me during the fight too.”
“I was kind of gauging it like that. If I would have felt any sort of negative effects during camp, I probably would have pulled out. But I felt great throughout the entire thing. I just took care of the infection, and we’re good. We’re here.”
Looking ahead, John Castaneda believes it’s time to put him in the conversation for the rankings.
“I’ve won four out of my last [five] fights. At least put me in the conversation for a top 15 guy. I’m always analyzing the top 15 guys, especially the 10 through 15. And stylistically I feel I match up well against a lot of them.”
“I’m not one to call people out but if I were to call somebody out, I’d really really love a fight with Adrian Yanez,” he added. “Not because it’s a disrespect thing, but stylistically I think we can put on a banger.”
Watch the full UFC 295 post-fight press conference with John Castaneda above.
