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In the world of the UFC, while it’s important for fighters to be able to perform at their best in the octagon, it’s also important that they can actually make the weight for whichever division they’ve decided to compete in. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
Every UFC event seems to feature at least one fighter missing their allotted weight limit. Sometimes, these weight misses can be more controversial than others.
Whether that’s because the weight miss comes in a title bout, or whether it’s because a fighter misses the mark hugely doesn’t matter, these incidents always produce major talking points afterwards.
With that in mind, here are the five most controversial weight misses in UFC history.
#5. Travis Lutter vs. Anderson Silva – UFC 67
Back in late 2006, the UFC decided on a somewhat controversial method to decide the next two title challengers in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. The promotion offered a shot to the winners of the tournaments on the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The reason why this was controversial was that the cast of that series was made up of fighters who’d essentially washed out of the promotion previously, meaning that to many observers, the winners were being given a chance to jump to the front of the queue for a title shot over and above more deserving contenders.
Eventually, Matt Serra won the welterweight title shot, while Travis Lutter won the middleweight one. To say their outcomes were different would be a huge understatement.
Lutter, christened ‘The Serial Killer’ by his castmates thanks to his stoic nature, was handed his shot at new middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva at UFC 67, the first pay-per-view event of 2007. Unfortunately, when the weigh-ins for the event came around, it was clear something was wrong.
The challenger looked downright unwell, sporting a shaved head and a pallid complexion, and it came as no surprise when he weighed in at 187 pounds, two pounds over the allotted 185-pound limit. Even stripping naked behind a towel couldn’t rescue Lutter, and the fight was swiftly changed into a non-title one.
Naturally, both the fans and the promotion itself were furious with this turn of events. Essentially, Silva was forced into a largely meaningless bout against an opponent who hadn’t really earned his shot.
Thankfully, ‘The Spider’ put an end to any further possible controversies by submitting Lutter with a triangle choke in the second round of their clash. Unsurprisingly, ‘The Serial Killer’ never got close to another title shot again.
#4. Anthony Johnson vs. Vitor Belfort – UFC 142
It seems hard to believe now, but when Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson debuted in MMA's premier promotion back in 2007, he did so as a welterweight. However, Johnson was always a hulking 170lber, and with a huge frame, making that weight limit was always going to be tricky for him.
By late 2011, while he’d only missed the 170-pound welterweight cut-off twice in 10 octagon appearances, ‘Rumble’ decided enough was enough and announced a move to 185 pounds. Booked against Vitor Belfort in the co-headliner of UFC 142, it felt like a potential fresh start for him.
Incredibly, though, when it was time to weigh in, not only did Johnson manage to miss the middleweight limit, he did so spectacularly.
After being advised by doctors to terminate his weight cut and rehydrate himself immediately, ‘Rumble’ stepped onto the scale at 197 pounds, 11 pounds over the limit. Belfort still agreed to fight him, but only if Johnson could weigh in at less than 205 pounds on the day of the event.
‘Rumble’ just about managed that, coming in at 204.2, but after losing via first-round rear-naked choke, he was released from his contract with the promotion, who’d clearly had enough of his shenanigans on the scale. He would not return for another two years – and when he did so, it was as a light heavyweight.
#3. William Knight vs. Maxim Grishin – UFC 271
While William Knight’s fight with Maxim Grishin was essentially a throwaway preliminary bout at UFC 271, it quickly turned out to be that event’s most controversial fight. That’s because Knight somehow missed weight by an incredible 12 pounds, making it the biggest weight miss in UFC history.
To be fair to ‘The Knightmare’, he did have somewhat of an excuse, which probably saved him from the chop from the promotion after he lost the bout by unanimous decision.
The graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series wasn’t actually pegged to fight on the card and only stepped in to replace the injured Ed Herman on around two weeks’ notice, meaning he likely didn’t have the chance to perform a proper weight cut.
However, to miss weight by a full 12 pounds was essentially beyond the pale, and it was somewhat of a surprise to see Grishin accept the bout at heavyweight after weighing in bang on the limit at 206 pounds..
Interestingly, since the incident, Knight has not attempted to cut down to 205 pounds again, instead remaining at heavyweight for his recent loss to Devin Clark. In that fight, ‘The Knightmare’ weighed in at 251 pounds, some 33 pounds heavier than he’d been for the fight with Grishin.
#2. Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker – UFC 225
When Yoel Romero knocked out Luke Rockhold in the headline bout at UFC 221, he should’ve been crowned the interim middleweight champion. However, because the Cuban Olympic silver medalist failed to hit the 185-pound championship limit, instead coming in at 187.7 pounds, he was ineligible to win the title, meaning his victory was somewhat spoiled.
Still, ‘The Soldier of God’ was widely recognized as the top contender for the title thanks to his victory, and it came as no surprise when the UFC matched him with the returning champion Robert Whittaker just four months later in a full title bout.
Incredibly, though, Romero would blow his shot at gold for the second time in a row. This time, he came in initially at 186 pounds. After an additional two hours, he came in at 185.2, just 0.2 pounds over the limit, but over it nonetheless.
Quite how he’d managed to miss the mark remains a mystery today, but it was clear that ‘The Soldier of God’ had nothing left to give, as he appeared to be in agony on the scale and had to be helped backstage by his team.
As for the fight, it was duly declared a non-title bout. When Whittaker won via split decision, it practically saved Romero of the embarrassment of being unable to claim UFC gold due to a weight miss for the second time in a row.
#1. Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje – UFC 274
The most recent entry on this list may well be the most controversial, too, as to date it’s the only weight miss that ended up resulting in a reigning UFC champion being stripped of their title. The champion in question was, of course, lightweight kingpin Charles Oliveira.
However, Oliveira’s weight miss for his bout with Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 wasn’t exactly a regular error. According to a number of fighters, including undercard combatant Ariane Carnelossi, the scales being used by athletes at the hotel prior to the weigh-ins had been altered somehow, resulting in chaos when it came to the real thing.
In the end, 20 of the 28 fighters due to compete at UFC 274 came in at least half a pound over the championship limit, with featherweight Norma Dumont missing her mark entirely. However, while the likes of Tony Ferguson and Mauricio Rua weren’t affected by coming in half a pound heavy, Oliveira was, resulting in him being ineligible to win the lightweight title, forcing the UFC to strip him.
So what exactly happened? According to Dana White, the issue stemmed from the fact that some of the European fighters in action on the card changed the calibration of the hotel’s scales from pounds to kilograms, causing a huge amount of chaos, and resulting in Oliveira’s miss.
The UFC president went onto state that he’ll employ a security guard to watch over the hotel scales in the future. Of course, that won’t give Oliveira his title back, and ‘Do Bronx’ will have to make do with another shot at it in his next fight.
