Junior dos Santos says Charles Oliveira's weigh-in scandal might have been done by UFC to "demote" Brazilians

Junior dos Santos has addressed Charles Oliveira's weigh-in scandal at UFC 274, which saw 'Do Bronx' being stripped of the lightweight title ahead of the championship fight. Oliveira weighed in at 0.5lbs heavier than the allowed 155lbs limit for the championship fight and lost the title after failing to make weight.

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The Brazilian later claimed that he weighed 155lbs per the official scale one night before the official weigh-ins. On the day of the weigh-ins, however, he weighed 0.5lbs more. Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos claims the decision to strip Oliveira of the title for failing to make weight is likely because of the promotion wanting to "demote" Brazilian supremacy in the promotion.

He claimed there could be a conspiracy behind the decision since it seems too harsh a punishment to take the title from Oliveira for missing weight. During a recent interview with Canal Encarada, dos Santos stated:

"I think any other punishment could be valid. I don't know, a paycheck punishment or something but they took the belt from the guy because he didn't hit the weight? I think this has never happened before in the entire history of the sport. It is tremendous nonsense. It looks like a conspiracy but I see it as since the UFC isn't exploring the Brazilian market much, I even see it as a way of trying to demote or take away the hegemony of Brazilians." [Translated by - Brazilian MMA Legends]

Watch a clip from Junior dos Santos' interview below:

Junior dos Santos currently competes in the heavyweight division of Khabib Nurmagomedov-owned promotion Eagle FC.

Glover Teixeira criticizes the UFC's decision to strip Charles Oliveira of the title

Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira has also criticized the promotion for stripping Charles Oliveira of the title. The 42-year-old claimed he still regards 'Do Bronx' as the lightweight champion, and it was a "disgrace" on behalf of the UFC to take the title from him.

Teixeira explained that Charles Oliveira missed weight by just 0.5 lbs and shouldn't have been punished so severely. Had he missed weight by a pound or more, then it would have been unprofessional on his part, claimed the light heavyweight champ. During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour podcast, he stated:

"Man, he’s still the champion for me, for everybody, [and] in his mind. It was a disgrace. It was ridiculous. If it was a couple pounds, I would say it’s unprofessional on his part, but he was a half-pound, and everybody knows about the scale problem. Yeah man, he’s the champion, he’s still the champion."

Watch the podcast below: