5 of the scariest UFC weight cut stories

#4. Former UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero

Yoel Romero was unfortunate to be in a weird spot when he competed in the UFC. He was too big for the middleweight division but was also too small for a light heavyweight.

Ultimately, 'The Soldier of God' selected 185 pounds as his weight division of choice. But that came with the caveat that he'd have to trim a significant amount of weight every time he fights.

The hulking Cuban fighter apparently walked around at 205 pounds, according to his manager Malki Kawa. This meant that he cut at least 20 pounds during training camp to prepare for his middleweight contests.

To be fair, though, Romero rarely had trouble making the cut throughout his seven-year UFC tenure. He has only failed to make the 185-pound threshold twice in his UFC career. Unfortunately, those two instances couldn't have come at worse moments.

Romero agreed to fight Luke Rockhold on short notice for the UFC interim middleweight title at UFC 221. However, his lack of preparation time proved to be very consequential as he went over the 185-pound limit and was subsequently stripped of the opportunity to capture the interim middleweight belt. Just the same, the fight went ahead and Romero defeated Rockhold via KO.

Due to his convincing performance, Romero earned another title shot against undisputed 185-pound champ Robert Whittaker at UFC 225. Once again, the MMA gods were not on Romero's side as he missed weight and subsequently lost his title opportunity for a second time.

#3. Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov

It's no secret that lightweight great Khabib Nurmagomedov has gone over 155 pounds outside the fight camp. In fact, teammates and trainers have revealed that the Dagestani fighter walks around at 190 pounds when he's not preparing for a fight.

Nurmagomedov's weight management issues were in full effect when he was scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 209. In what is now known as the UFC's biggest what-if, Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov was booked five times but got nixed every single time.

This was Khabib Nurmagomedov at media day yesterday. Told me weight cut was tough but going as expected #UFC209 pic.twitter.com/xjroo4pwAt
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) March 3, 2017

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This was the third time the UFC tried to put together a matchup between 'The Eagle' and 'El Cucuy.' But on the morning of the weigh-ins, Nurmagomedov was rushed to the hospital after he suffered severe dehydration and intense liver pain.

Thankfully, Nurmagomedov seemed to figure out how to manage his weight effectively. The Russian fighter went on to have a stellar run as the UFC lightweight champ before he retired in 2020.