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The event of UFC Brasilia will go on as per schedule, but there has been a minor setback - and no, it has nothing to do with COVID-19.
Headlining fighter Kevin Lee, who was going up against Charles Oliveira in the main event at Brasilia, was 2.5 pounds over the limit. He initially did not come on stage during the weigh-in window. But members of the Brazilian athletic commission CABMMA confirmed to MMA Fighting that Lee did step on the scales backstage ahead of the deadline.
Lee loses a percentage of fight-purse
After weighing in backstage, Lee was not allowed an extra hour by the doctors to try and make the weight. According to CABMMA officials, he could only shed around 0.5 pounds in the half-hour before the official weigh-ins. The scales showed 158.5 pounds, even after Lee stood behind the towel.
This is the second time Lee has failed to make weight in the 155-pounds division. Before this, he could not hit the mark before his bout against Edson Barboza in April 2018, but still went on to win the fight with a fifth-round TKO.
According to an update by UFC, Oliveira too has agreed to take the fight despite his opponent missing the weight. However, he will claim 20 percent of Lee's fight purse as a penalty. Oliveira himself made weight successfully, weighing in at 156 pounds, thanks to the one-pound allowance for non-title fights.
The fight will take place on Saturday, March 14, in an empty Nilson Nelson Gymnasium following the Federal decree that any gathering of more than a hundred people is to be suspended till March 16, owing to the worldwide breakout of COVID-19. Restrictions are imposed on media access as well at the host hotel of the event.
