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Charles Oliveira was stripped of his lightweight title after the Brazilian was unable to make weight by half a pound ahead of his title fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274.
'Do Bronx' recently opened up on the entire fiasco in an exclusive interview with ESPN MMA .
Charles Oliveira believes the Arizona State Athletic Commission robbed him of his title as they wanted their hometown fighter Justin Gaethje to be champion. According to 'Do Bronx', the weighing scale measured the same for him with and without underwear. The 32-year-old told ESPN MMA:
"200g was missing, and I did something I hate, which was get in the hot tub. I stayed in it for 40 minutes. I went to weigh myself with my underwear wet, it gave the same weight. I weighed myself without underwear and it was the same weight. So, for me, they could have ripped my leg off, it would still give the same weight. The city athletic commission robbed me, they robbed me. That's the reality . They wanted to take my belt off to mess with my head, but it happened the other way around."
The former lightweight champion further added:
"This served to show the division and the world that I am another Charles, lightweight champion. No matter how much they try to mess with my head, I am the champion. The city commission robbed me, they wanted the champion to be from their city, but it didn't even come close. I think there was some pressure on the scale. Anyone could go up, I wouldn't make weight."
Charles Oliveira claims he wasn't notified about the scale issue
Charles Oliveira and several other fighters complained of a 'heavy' scale after waking up on the day of the UFC 274 weigh-ins. Despite being stripped of his belt, Oliveira maintained his position atop the lightweight division with a first-round submission win over Gaethje.
UFC president Dana White later blamed foreign fighters for messing with the calibration of the scale by changing the measuring unit from pounds to kilos.
According to Charles Oliveira, all fighters barring him were informed of an issue with the scale. Ready to apologize if proven wrong, 'Do Bronx' noted that he could not make weight despite being on the verge of death while Gaethje hit 155 lbs despite being "fat." The 32-year-old further told ESPN MMA:
"No one on my team was notified about the scale problem, and all the other fighters were warned. If it proves it was, I apologize for everything I'm saying, but that's not what happened. It was disrespectful to the UFC. look, Justin is fat and he hit 70kg. I was almost dying and I didn't hit 70kg. They lacked common sense and they took my belt because of 200 grams."
To prevent similar mishaps in the future, the UFC has decided to have a security guard watch the weighing scales round the clock at the fighter hotels. Athletes will only be allowed to weigh themselves instead of having the liberty to use the scale with a preferred unit of pounds or kilos.
