"Christmas dinner undefeated"- Fans react as Juan Archuleta misses weight and is eventually stripped off title ahead of RIZIN 45

RIZIN bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta has been stripped of his title, following a huge weight miss on the scales ahead of his December 31 bout.

Archuleta is due to face Kai Asakura on the upcoming RIZIN 45 card, seeking his first title defence. He previously captured the title in July, defeating Hiromasa Ougikubo via unanimous decision.

The former Bellator fighter then stepped onto the scales this week and missed weight by a staggering 2.8kg (6 pounds). As per the rules of the RIZIN MMA promotion, if a fighter misses weight by over 1kg, they are stripped of their title.

Translated to English, the tweet, courtesy of @ykkymma reads:

"MMA news🙍‍♀️ Archuleta was stripped of his title after going 2.8km over. Whether or not there will be a match will be announced later. #RIZIN45"

As it stands, there has been no official confirmation on whether the bout will take place or if a replacement opponent will be found.

MMA fans have been reacting to the news, with one fan blaming Archuleta's over indulgence of Christmas food to be the reason behind his weight:

"Christmas dinner undefeated"

Another fan wrote:

"6lb weight miss is egregious. I wonder what he’s cutting from."

Reddit user @donmifc added:

"Hopefully fight still goes ahead and Kai finds a way to get it done"

Check out more reactions below:

Fan's react to Juan Archuleta's weight miss

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Juan Archuleta reacts to missing weight ahead of RIZIN 45

Juan Archuleta has released a statement on social media following the news of him being stripped of his RIZIN bantamweight title.

The veteran fighter has competed in 33 bouts during his professional career, amassing a 29-4 record across a variety of promotions. While some fans are disappointed, it is important to note that this is the first time in his career that he has had an issue on the scales.

Archuleta took to X, (formerly Twitter) to provide his response to the situation, stating that the reason he missed weight was due to him getting sick during fight camp. He tweeted:

"Sorry this happened nothing I can do about getting sick. I did my best to make weight and still step on the scale knowing, I was going to have my title taken away. But I don’t want my fans who pay hard working money to miss this fight. So I did my best and came up short."

Catch the post here: