‘I had herpes’: American MMA fighter’s bizarre admission goes viral

An American MMA fighter has gone viral for a brutally honest post-fight interview in which he confesses to having an STI.

American MMA fighter Joel Bauman has gone viral for a brutally honest post-fight interview at Fury FC 61, in which he confesses to recently having a sexually transmitted infection.

An American MMA fighter’s brutally honest post-fight interview at Fury FC 61, in which he confesses to recently having a sexually transmitted infection, has gone viral on social media.

Joel Bauman improved his career record to 5-2-0 on Monday AEST, claiming a TKO victory over countryman Reese Forest in their middleweight bout at Bert Ogden Arena in Texas.

The 30-year-old ruthlessly peppered his opponent with a cluster of powerful blows in the second round until the referee had no other option but to wave off the fight.

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In the post-fight interview, Bauman listed off the challenges he faced before this week’s bout - causally mentioning he recently had herpes.

“Last fight I was tired, I was exhausted,” he said.

“I’m about to launch this NFT that’s going to change the fight game.

“And I put in 30 all-nighters before that fight, I had herpes before that fight, two outbreaks in the span of a week.

“I’m here, I’m healthy, let’s go, whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

Footage of Bauman’s bizarre admission quickly circulated social media, with the clip registering more than 462,000 views in less than 12 hours.

NO WAY did he just say that.#FuryFC61pic.twitter.com/lAk5G3AEBb

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 8, 2022

Bauman had previously suffered a loss to America’s Josh Fremd in Missouri in February, the second defeat of his professional career.

Meanwhile at UFC 274, Michael Chandler won his lightweight bout with Tony Ferguson in stunning fashion, producing a lethal kick to Ferguson’s face to knock him out cold.

Both fighters were evenly matched in the first round, but it only took 15 seconds for Chandler to end the fight in the second period.

After sizing up his opponent, he landed a brutal kick to Ferguson’s chin that knocked him out immediately and sent him straight to the canvas.

The referee intervened and Chandler celebrated wildly, backflipping several times before climbing on top of the cage and beating his chest.

It was one of the most savage knockouts the UFC has ever seen and just the ninth front kick KO in the sport’s history.

Originally published as ‘I had herpes’: American MMA fighter’s bizarre admission goes viral