A bantamweight fighter`s career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship now hangs in serious doubt following an astounding 8-pound weight miss, placing him closer to the featherweight division limit than his own.
Drama erupted just a day before UFC Rio, as one athlete scheduled to compete on Saturday night inexplicably missed weight by an amount nearly equivalent to an entire weight class. The event, set for October 11 at Farmasi Arena, was poised to showcase a roster of Brazilian talent before their enthusiastic home crowd. Among them was Saimon Oliveira, who, with an 18-6 record, was already fighting for his UFC tenure after suffering three consecutive losses since his Dana White’s Contender Series victory.
However, Oliveira’s performance on the weigh-in scale on Friday may have extinguished any remaining hope of securing his continued stay in the promotion, even before he had a chance to step into the Octagon.
Saimon Oliveira Misses UFC Rio Weigh-in by a Staggering 8 Pounds
Oliveira was the last fighter to officially weigh in. After 23 preceding competitors successfully hit their divisional limits, the 34-year-old had the opportunity to complete a perfect weigh-in session for the event. Instead, he did not just miss weight; he was astonishingly far off the mark.
The UFC fighter stunned onlookers by weighing in at 144 pounds for his scheduled bantamweight clash against Luan Lacerda. This figure is an extraordinary eight pounds over the division’s non-title fight limit of 136 pounds.
While many immediately anticipated that the bout would be canceled, mirroring the fate of the Valter Walker vs. Mohammed Usman fight, the promotion has confirmed that Oliveira’s fight is still slated to proceed. MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz subsequently reported that Oliveira would incur a 50% fine of his fight purse due to the significant weight infraction and would not be permitted to weigh more than 155 pounds when he enters the arena on Saturday night.
Fans reacted with widespread disbelief and outrage at Oliveira’s egregious weight miss, with many online asserting that it would undoubtedly mark the end of his UFC career, regardless of his fight`s outcome. The sentiment across social media was clear:
“Did he think the fight was at featherweight?”
“100% getting cut, amateur hour.”
“UFC’s fault for keeping a guy who’s 0-3 on the roster.”
“0-3 too, definitely gets cut.”
“Oh hell naw, you gotta get cut after that.”
“8lbs??? Cut this dude.”
UFC Rio Main Event Confirmed as Oliveira and Gamrot Successfully Make Weight
In stark contrast to the earlier controversies, the main event fighters faced no such difficulties on the scale. Both Charles Oliveira and Mateusz Gamrot successfully weighed in at 156 pounds, officially confirming their highly anticipated UFC Rio main event at Farmasi Arena.
The Polish standout, known as ‘Gamer,’ admirably made weight despite accepting the fight on short notice. Gamrot received this opportunity to face the former champion after Rafael Fiziev was forced to withdraw from the scheduled Oliveira fight due to an injury.
