Anthony Smith missed weight by four pounds despite being on call for UFC 283 as a replacement fighter for the main event.
Smith, 34, was weighing in the event that Glover Teixeira or Jamahal Hill were forced to pull out of the vacant light-heavyweight title fight. Replacement fighters have been implemented by the UFC in recent years because of high-profile fights being cancelled on short notice, due to tough weight cuts or other medical issues.
Texeira and Hill both successfully made weight the 205lb limit for their title clash but Smith failed to come in at the light-heavyweight limit as he stepped on the scale at 209lb. If Smith is unable to lose the additional four pounds in the two-hour window, he will be ineligible to win the light-heavyweight title if he is called upon to replace Teixeira or Hill in the main event.
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Smith was scheduled to face Hill at a UFC event next weekend, but the fight was cancelled when the promotion decided to book Hill against Teixeira for the vacant title. Former 205lb champion Jiri Prochazka vacated his belt after suffering " the worse shoulder injury in history " and no champion was crowned when Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fought to a draw in their vacant title clash last month.
Hill was signed to the UFC after impressing on the Contender Series in 2019 and has since won five of his seven fights for the promotion. 'Sweet Dreams' enters his fight against Texeira on the back of three consecutive knockout wins, with the American earning $50,000 performance bonuses for each fight.
Teixeira lost his light-heavyweight title when he was choked out by Prochazka last June despite winning most of the fight. The Brazilian turned down a title fight against Ankalaev when Prochazka pulled out of their UFC 282 rematch but Teixeira will now get the chance to become a two-time UFC champion at the age of 43.
In the co-main event of UFC 283, flyweight champion Deiveison Figueiredo fights Brandon Moreno for the fourth time. Their first fight in 2020 ended in a draw and both men also have a win over each other as they look to put an end to their rivalry in the quadrilogy fight.
