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Competing in the UFC is a tricky task for even the world’s best fighters, but at times, some of them seem to find making weight just as hard as facing off with their opponents in the octagon.
Over the years, we’ve seen countless numbers of UFC fighters struggle to make weight. Some have even been accused of cheating in order to hit a certain weight limit for their division.
Whether or not these accusations can be taken seriously is often up for debate, although in at least one high-profile case, the fighter in question denied it at the time only to admit his infraction years later.
With that in mind, here are five UFC fighters who were accused of cheating in order to make weight.
#5. Daniel Cormier – former UFC light heavyweight & heavyweight champion
Perhaps the most infamous example of a fighter seemingly cheating to make weight is former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Renowned as one of MMA’s “good guys,” ‘DC’ caused controversy in 2017 when weighing in for his title defense against Anthony Johnson.
Clearly struggling to hit the 205 pounds light heavyweight limit, Cormier missed the mark on his first attempt, only to return to the scale moments later for a second try.
This time, the champion stripped naked and stood behind a towel, and sure enough, seconds later, it was announced that he’d hit 205 on the button.
However, many fans were unconvinced, with some accusing Cormier of pushing down onto the towel with his hands in order to essentially confuse the scale into believing he was lighter. The incident was immediately christened 'towel-gate'.
At the time, unsurprisingly, Cormier denied the accusations. But with five years now gone, the retired legend decided to use his induction into the UFC’s Hall of Fame this weekend to come clean.
Cormier admitted to performing the “towel trick,” stating that he couldn’t believe that the commissioner in New York didn’t catch him out. He then went onto apologise to Johnson, who no longer fights with the promotion.
With ‘DC’ now firmly on the shelf and unlikely to return to action, it seems doubtful that they’ll be any repercussions for the incident. However, it stands as a fine example of how desperate even the best fighters in the world can be to make weight.
#4. Khamzat Chimaev – UFC welterweight
Right now, Khamzat Chimaev is undoubtedly the hottest contender in the UFC’s welterweight division, but that hasn’t made him immune to some weight-cutting issues. While ‘Borz’ has never officially missed weight for a fight, he came mightily close prior to his 2021 bout with Li Jingliang.
The fight, which was Chimaev’s first in over a year following a serious bout of COVID-19, required the Chechen-born Swede to make the welterweight limit. However, on his first attempt, he was only able to reach 171.5 pounds.
Chimaev was granted an extra hour to lose the allotted weight, but when he returned to the scale, stripped naked and stood behind a towel, it appeared that he’d gone the extra mile. Remarkably, ‘Borz’ was now 166 pounds.
However, that wasn’t quite the case. While fans in attendance were shocked, it was quickly noted by an official that Chimaev’s hands were on the towel at the time. After being instructed to raise them, he hit 170 pounds on the button.
While it was largely hard to deny that Chimaev had eventually made weight for the bout, it didn’t take long for fans to accuse him of attempting to cheat the scale with the same so-called ‘towel trick’ that Daniel Cormier had used in 2017.
Regardless, ‘Borz’ was able to compete against Jingliang and the fight went better than the weigh-in, as he picked up a victory via first round submission.
#3. Kelvin Gastelum – UFC middleweight
One fighter who has had issues with his weight ever since he arrived in the UFC is current middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum. The TUF 17 winner competed as a welterweight in his early days with the promotion, but after missing weight twice, 2015 saw him move to 185 pounds.
Unfortunately, Gastelum’s weight issues have reared their heads on more than one occasion since. While he’s never officially missed the middleweight limit, it’s clear that the cut to 185 pounds remains tricky for him.
Most notably, Gastelum was outright accused of cheating the scales by some fans following the weigh-in for his 2019 bout with Darren Till at UFC 244.
Gastelum was the final fighter to weigh in for the event and appeared to have performed a successful cut, standing at a reported 184 pounds. However, that was brought into question when video footage of his weigh-in was made available.
While the footage was largely unclear, some fans immediately accused Gastelum of leaning on his coach Rafael Cordeiro while he was on the scale, essentially taking some of his weight for him.
The accusation was immediately shrugged off by Cordeiro, who dismissed it as “drama” and claimed that the people making the claim were “tripping.”
Eventually, the New York State Athletic Commission decided to review footage of the incident, but immediately stated that Gastelum had done nothing wrong and that the fight could go ahead as planned.
Gastelum would go onto lose a decision to Till, rendering any real complaints largely moot. However, the truth is that only he and Cordeiro know exactly what happened on the scale.
#2. Aspen Ladd – UFC bantamweight
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of UFC fighters who go to extreme measures to make their allotted weight and end up looking outright terrible on the scale for it. A great example of this on the current roster is bantamweight contender Aspen Ladd.
Often appearing to look wobbly and drained on the scale, Ladd’s weigh-in appearances have sometimes alarmed fans. However, officially, at least, she’s only missed weight for one bout inside the octagon.
That bout was a planned 2021 clash with Macy Chiasson, a clash that was eventually called off entirely when Ladd could only reach 137 pounds, one pound over the 136-pound bantamweight limit for non-title fights.
Unfortunately for Ladd, not only did she fail to hit her mark, but in attempting to do so, she also earned the ire of former bantamweight champ Miesha Tate, who accused her of attempting to cheat the scale.
In a rant on social media, Tate claimed that Ladd had attempted to “use every excuse in the book” to not weigh in properly, and then claimed she was probably 139 pounds rather than 137.
When pushed for further detail, Tate claimed that Ladd had refused to use a digital scale before stepping onto the official one so that no suspicion would be aroused over a potential discrepancy. Tate also accused her of using Daniel Cormier’s so-called ‘towel trick’.
In response, Ladd’s coach Jim West was quick to label Tate a “coward,” but interestingly enough, he didn’t outright deny the accusations, leaving fans to wonder whether there was genuinely any truth in them.
#1. Georges St-Pierre – former UFC welterweight & middleweight champion
The majority of fighters named on this list ended up being accused of cheating to make weight largely because of some kind of shenanigans on the scale. Rightly or wrongly, it’s hard to deny that they raised suspicions.
However, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was not immune to such an accusation, despite the fact that throughout his decade-long career with the promotion, he never missed weight once.
Hilariously, ‘GSP’ was not accused of cheating by the fans. Instead, the accusations came from his bitter rival and one-time opponent Nick Diaz, who was defeated by the Canadian in a welterweight title bout at UFC 158 in early 2013.
Officially, St-Pierre made weight at 170 pounds, but according to Diaz, that wasn’t the case at all. The Stockton-based fighter claimed ‘GSP’ missed weight, stating that he was three pounds over and that the Quebec Athletic Commission simply overlooked it due to their inherent Canadian bias.
Diaz also claimed St-Pierre was on steroids for the bout and that none of the fighters on the card were drug tested correctly. His reasoning for this? Had he been tested, he’d have been flagged for marijuana use!
Of course, Diaz’s accusations have never been clarified by any third party, making them highly unlikely. Nevertheless, this remains one of the more high-profile examples of a fighter who was accused of cheating to make weight for a bout in the octagon.
