Junior dos Santos says he is lucky to be fighting again as doctors said he could have very well died from his recent leg infection.

Back in October, dos Santos was forced to pull out of his UFC Moscow main event fight against Alexander Volkov. He was hospitalized for a couple of days but was still hoping he could make the scrap as he didn’t realize how serious the infection was.

“It was extremely serious,” Junior dos Santos told MMA Fighting. “I spent a week in the hospital thinking that I would get cleared and fight [Volkov], but the doctor came to me and said, ‘You don’t understand how serious this is.’ He said I was lucky to be a healthy man and that I went to the hospital soon enough, otherwise I could have gone straight to ICU.

“I could have lost my leg or even died,” he added.

After talking to the doctors, Junior dos Santos realized how bad the infection was. So, he is glad he came out of it healthy and is still able to fight.

“That’s when I truly understood how serious the situation was,” Junior dos Santos said. “The first thing that came to my head were my kids and my family, how fragile we are. I was feeling great, strong, happy, training for a fight… Everything going right, and all of a sudden this happens. It was a huge blow.

“I saw a movie in my head of everything I had dodged. It’s hard to explain how fragile we are. I take good care of myself and that helped me. In this case, to not only support this disease but also have a good and fast recovery.”

Now, with the infection behind him, he will make his return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC Raleigh against Curtis Blaydes. Which he says is a shot of adrenaline for him.

What do you make of Junior dos Santos saying he nearly died from the leg infection that pulled him out from his UFC Moscow fight? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/9/2020.