Junior dos Santos gives statement on UFC Moscow scratch, posts gruesome pictures of injured leg

Former UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos said he spent eight days in the hospital recovering from a bacterial infection that took him out of UFC Moscow. Now he’s got pictures to prove it.

Dos Santos, who was scheduled to face Alexander Volkov, documented his injury in all its grisly glory on his official Instagram page. Pictures show a large chunk of flesh missing from his left leg and tubes sticking out of it.

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Early on Tuesday, the Brazilian heavyweight told MMA Fighting he’d undergone two procedures to introduce a drain and then remove it.

In the wake of dos Santos’ withdrawal, onetime heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou volunteered to fill in against Alexander Volkov at the Nov. 9 event in Moscow. But the replacement sweepstakes was won instead by Greg Hardy, who just three days ago was mired in controversy over his most recent octagon appearance.

Hardy earned a unanimous decision over Ben Sosoli at UFC on ESPN 6 only to see it declared a no-contest when he used an inhaler that wasn’t officially approved by the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission.

Dos Santos apologized to his fans and his opponent for not being able to make the fight.

“It’s been a long eight days here at the hospital guys,” dos Santos said. “I didn’t realize how severe this infection was, and I thought I could just treat it and get back to my training camp and fight Volkov in Russia.

“Unfortunately, it’s been a long road. I’ve been under general anesthesia three times this past week. I still have drain tubes running out of my legs, and I’m loaded up on medications. I’m very sorry to my opponent, for the Russian fans, and to all the MMA fans around the world. I’ll be back as soon as possible. Trust me.”