Blatant favoritism when a popular fighter misses weight

[Substance Abuse]

I heard that Abdu Dhabi let's Makhchev pack his gloves with plaster, that's why he was able to knockdown the famously iron-chinned Oliviera.

Frankly, I'm appalled by all the cheating. They should have let Volk wear a helmet during their second fight.

Before the second Volk fight, they put a metal plate in his foot too...

 

[RonDante]

Well that doesn't really make sense. If you're shooting for 155 and I'm shooting for 156 and the scale effects us both, then you showing up as 155.5 should mean I came in at 156.5.

Tony, Shogun, Cowboy, Lauzon, Fialho, Brown, Macy, Royval, Schnell, Roberts, Trinaldo, Cortez, Rodriguez, Carnelossi, Garcia, and Newson were all a half pound under their allotted limit, while Godinez, Gatto, Williams, VanCamp, and OSP were a full pound under.

As a matter of fact, only Vergara and Chandler actually met the weight limit. Two fighters on the whole card being at the one pound allowance is actually much LOWER than your average card, so it's weird how the only people who missed weight were Charles and frequent weight misser Dumont

Even Justin was 155 and Rose and Carla were all point on for their title fight weights, so I fail to see this supposed effect the other fighters suffered from

*edit* for comparisons sake, the Vera-Font card the week before had 20 non HW fighters:

Only Font missed weight
Again, 5 didn't need the 1 pound allowance.
Only 9 made a half pound over
While an entire 5 people made full use of the allowance.

Pretty much every card you pick out of a hat is gonna have MORE fighters touching the top limit than 274 did, so it's a weird narrative I've heard about how everyone was so affected by it when all statistics point to the contrary

Yea, the excuses people make for Charles just cause he’s popular is pretty delusional. And the hate islam gets with nothing but rumours too. it’s just favouritism. I mean, it’s not like charles’ win over gaethje is any less impressive becuase he came in a half pound over

 

[Tapatio]

Speaking of weigh ins, who's that sassy, obnoxious "thank you babe" lady who is always there asking fighters to wait before they step off? Sounds like an unecessary, overpaid job

 

[Gamer2k4]

Not that it would have changed the result of the fight as it wasn't even a pound difference and it was a dominate performance, but just the fact that they through this one under the rug.

First of all, it's "dominant." This is the only place I've been to where people are constantly confused as to the spelling, and it's so prevalent I almost wonder if it's some inside joke I'm missing.

Second, I've never cared for the argument of "it's only a pound so it doesn't matter." If it's really such little weight, why can't the fighter just lose it? If you're unable to make weight, it doesn't matter if it's a pound or ten pounds; your body has reached its limit and you're probably doing harm to yourself at that point. If you are truly so heavy to begin with that you physically can't make the contracted weight that both you and your opponent agreed to fight at (and that your opponent WAS able to make), then you deserve the fine, the title ineligibility, the mandate to move up a weight class, or whatever other penalty exists for missing weight.

 

[Gamer2k4]

He's not reducing his weight. He's reducing the ammount of his weight on the scale by putting some of that weight on the towel and the people holding the towel

Cleanest and simplest way of putting it, IMO.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

Sure it makes sense if Oliviera is going for 155 on the dot and someone else generally shoots for .5lbs more just to be sure. I don't get why you're so skeptical about this. The scale the UFC provides to the fighters should read the same as the official scale and that was not the case at 274.

It makes sense because fighters DO shoot for the weight they're allowed to weigh and more people on average on this card went PAST that than any other card and I provided you lengthy evidence of that. That's not called "being skeptical." That's being factual

It's the hotel scale. It's not an official scale. People are allowed to bring their own scales too. I don't disbelieve the scale was fucked up cuz that were multiple reports on it. But again, fighters depending on it is more privilege than right, and every other fighter provably did more than fine with the problem, so the original claim about how other fighters souls have been impacted is blatant misinformation

 

[BOTTICELLI]

The Romero incident was especially ridiculous because he should have been given more time, but wasn't because the asshole in charge had to go to a baseball game or some shit, so they never gave him the extra 2 hours or whatever it was.

I mean 0.2 lbs, just ridiculous.

Exactly its like one piss away

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

It makes sense because fighters DO shoot for the weight they're allowed to weigh and more people on average on this card went PAST that than any other card and I provided you lengthy evidence of that. That's not called "being skeptical." That's being factual

It's the hotel scale. It's not an official scale. People are allowed to bring their own scales too. I don't disbelieve the scale was fucked up cuz that were multiple reports on it. But again, fighters depending on it is more privilege than right, and every other fighter provably did more than fine with the problem, so the original claim about how other fighters souls have been impacted is blatant misinformation

I saw someone put together data in an article that suggests the scales was slightly off. I also distinctly remember at the time that it happened the fighters were finding out in the last few days that the test scales were reading light. It wasn't a thing that impacted them all the way up until the real weight in so everyone started cutting more, Oliveira just couldn't in the last few days that the info came out, had he known that 1-2 days earlier I'm sure that .5 would have come off.

 

[El Fernas]

We have seen when the AC (not the UFC, btw) calls a champion over the weight limit, fights dont get cancelled, champ got stripped but challenger can still fight for it, its always been the same, DC cheated but the AC didnt caught him and Rumble's team didnt complain on the spot either...its not on the UFC, its on the AC and the opponent, period.

 

[Snake_bite]

I saw someone put together data in an article that suggests the scales was slightly off. I also distinctly remember at the time that it happened the fighters were finding out in the last few days that the test scales were reading light. It wasn't a thing that impacted them all the way up until the real weight in so everyone started cutting more, Oliveira just couldn't in the last few days that the info came out, had he known that 1-2 days earlier I'm sure that .5 would have come off.

“Well, first of all, let me say that the official scale, which is the one they weighed in on Friday with the athletic commission … 28 of the fighters made weight,” Ratner said Tuesday on Sirius XM’s “Unlocking the Cage.” “So I’m very, very sure that there was nothing untoward on that scale. That scale was accurate.

“What people are talking about, the night before, there’s a scale where the fighters can come down and check their weight. Some fighters wanted to change the scale from pounds to kilograms, which you can do, and I think that may have knocked it – we don’t have any proof of anything, but it may have knocked the (practice) scale out of calibration. When we found out that there was a problem with the scale early on Friday morning somewhere around 8 or 8:30, we got another scale that was calibrated and put it out there.”

Ratner’s explanation aligns with what White said after UFC 274, that non-American fighters are prone to change the backstage scale from pounds to kilos. How the accuracy of the backstage scale may have affected Oliveira in this instance is unclear.

“I am not sure what time that Charles or his camp came down on Friday,” Ratner said. “But he’s saying that he checked the weight on Thursday night, and he was fine. But I can say for sure that Friday there was nothing wrong with the official scale.”

'That scale was accurate': UFC exec Marc Ratner doesn't see controversy in Charles Oliveira missing weight

For UFC VP of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner, the UFC 274 weigh-in controversy surrounding Charles Oliveira is black and white.

mmajunkie.usatoday.com

So, Oliveira had all morning to cut 0.5lbs but couldn't.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

They should just make weigh ins the same day as the fights... nobodies cutting weight day of... Not if your smart that is...

Then we'd actually have weight classes that make actual sense...

Right now we'd be better off just having two divisions...under 200 and over 200 ... Because nobody is fighting at their actual divisional weight anyways

 

[Rationality]

DC means Dirty Cheater whether it was the eye poke that let him KO Stipe, the towel thing, that's why I never felt bad when possibly a worse cheater KO'd him.

 

[Gamer2k4]

They should just make weigh ins the same day as the fights... nobodies cutting weight day of... Not if your smart that is...

Problem is, they're not smart - at least, not when it comes to cutting weight. Weigh-ins are the day before because if they weren't, you'd start seeing people die in the octagon.

 

[TheTickG]

The first controversy that I can recall regarding Weigh ins was when GSP and Diaz fought at UFC 158. There is a 1 pound allowance for non-title fights, but for title fights you can't be over the actual weight class limit. GSP supposedly weighed in at 170.9 and was given a pass. I always thought it was Diaz playing mind games. Turns out Nick was right and the Canadian commission at the time allowed for the decimal to be rounded down. Not that it would have changed the result of the fight as it wasn't even a pound difference and it was a dominate performance, but just the fact that they through this one under the rug.



Daniel Cormier admitted that he cheated at UFC 210. He claimed that he was 1.2 over, but I personally think it was more. I think it was closer to be 4-5 lbs and DC is trying to make it sound not as bad, but if any other fighter were to do this, their fight might be canceled and any unpopular champ would have been stripped.

Yoel Romero missed weight by .2 pounds and they made him ineligible to win the title.

Islam had controversy in the first Volk fight because he was able to rehydrate with IV's via some loophole. Many people believe that he mainly fights in Abu Dhabi so that he can get favorable conditions regarding his weight cut and I totally agree. He is one of the biggest LW's ever and is basically on death's door every time he makes weight. In the rematch he looked way better physically. I wouldn't be surpirsed if they were letting him come in at 159-160ish when he fights in Abu Dhabi. Its the wild "east" over there, whatever they say goes.

UFC 284 in Australia

UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi

Any other super obvious examples?

DC probably just put the decimal in the wrong spot when he said how much he was over.

 

[Danespina]

It's still bs even if it is a consistent part of the Canadian commission's rules because it's out of step with all the other UFC title fights, and so the UFC would at least have the responsibility of telling everyone (i.e. the non-Canadian fighters) that they have the extra pound so that they aren't at a disadvantage from not knowing the local rules

Isn’t the video posted of the commission telling a non-Canadian fighter (Diaz) that they have the extra pound?

 

[gentel]

Isn’t the video posted of the commission telling a non-Canadian fighter (Diaz) that they have the extra pound?

True it's good he said that, just idk how far along the process they were at that point. It would be way more unfair if they didn't tell, but still way better if the rules are standardized everywhere

 

[cmw43]

Khamzat Vs Holland.

Holland was cutting to 170lbs, Khamzat stopped at 180lbs and they made it a "catch-weight" and then Khamzat wrecks the smaller Holland and all the Khamzat fans are calling for a 170lb title shot.

 

[Danespina]

It would be way more unfair if they didn't tell, but still way better if the rules are standardized everywhere

That’s a MMA problem in general. The rules are different everywhere.

 

[Lee Danger]

Chimaev and Oliveira are both recidivists...

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

“Well, first of all, let me say that the official scale, which is the one they weighed in on Friday with the athletic commission … 28 of the fighters made weight,” Ratner said Tuesday on Sirius XM’s “Unlocking the Cage.” “So I’m very, very sure that there was nothing untoward on that scale. That scale was accurate.

“What people are talking about, the night before, there’s a scale where the fighters can come down and check their weight. Some fighters wanted to change the scale from pounds to kilograms, which you can do, and I think that may have knocked it – we don’t have any proof of anything, but it may have knocked the (practice) scale out of calibration. When we found out that there was a problem with the scale early on Friday morning somewhere around 8 or 8:30, we got another scale that was calibrated and put it out there.”

Ratner’s explanation aligns with what White said after UFC 274, that non-American fighters are prone to change the backstage scale from pounds to kilos. How the accuracy of the backstage scale may have affected Oliveira in this instance is unclear.

“I am not sure what time that Charles or his camp came down on Friday,” Ratner said. “But he’s saying that he checked the weight on Thursday night, and he was fine. But I can say for sure that Friday there was nothing wrong with the official scale.”

'That scale was accurate': UFC exec Marc Ratner doesn't see controversy in Charles Oliveira missing weight

For UFC VP of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner, the UFC 274 weigh-in controversy surrounding Charles Oliveira is black and white.

mmajunkie.usatoday.com

So, Oliveira had all morning to cut 0.5lbs but couldn't.

Or a better way to put it is Oliveira had a whole day where the scale was inaccurate casuing him to miscalcalculate and miss weight by .5lbs. That seems very reasonable to me and if it had not happened he very likely would have made weight. The UFC should have people checking the accuracy of the test scale at the beginning and end of every day or anytime someone changes it from lbs to kgs. It can't be that hard to just have one person during fight week make sure it's accurate.

I'm pretty sure Oliveira didn't start that Friday at .5lbs over, that's what his last failed attempt was.