The old adage is that the fight before the fight in MMA is the one with the scale.
Weight-cutting struggles and eventual weight misses are a regular part of the sport. Throughout 2023, we updated this story each time there was an infraction on the UFC scale – or fights that were scrapped because of issues with a fighter’s weight.
Here’s the final list. Fighters listed are in chronological order of their scheduled bouts.
(List updated after UFC 296 weigh-ins in Las Vegas, Dec. 15, 2023.)
Sijara Eubanks
Event: UFC Fight Night 217
Date: Jan. 14
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Women’s flyweight
Final weight: N/A
Notes: Sijara Eubanks didn’t weigh in for her scheduled 125-pound matchup against Priscila Cachoeira. While she technically did not miss weight, Eubanks’ “weight management issues,” according to the UFC, forced the fight to be canceled. Eubanks has a history of weight issues in the UFC. She was set to fight Nicco Montano in the “TUF 26” women’s flyweight final, but had to be pulled from the bout for a bad weight cut in December 2017. She missed the flyweight limit in 2018, then returned to bantamweight for six fights. For a December 2021 loss to Melissa Gatto, her most recent fight ahead of her issues ahead of the Cachoeira fight, Eubanks also missed weight.
Kleydson Rodrigues
Event: UFC 284
Date: Feb. 12
Location: RAC Arena, Perth, Australia
Division: Flyweight
Final weight: 127
Notes: Kleydson Rodrigues weighed in a pound over the flyweight non-title limit and was fined 20 percent of his purse. Rodrigues beat Shannon Ross with a 59-second TKO.
Zubaira Tukhugov
Event: UFC 284
Date: Feb. 12
Location: RAC Arena, Perth, Australia
Division: Lightweight
Final weight: 157.5
Notes: Zubaira Tukhugov weighed in 1.5 pounds over the lightweight non-title limit and was fined 30 percent of his purse. He fought Elves Brener to open the card and lost a split decision.
Geoff Neal
Event: UFC 285
Date: March 4
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Division: Welterweight
Final weight: 175
Notes: Geoff Neal weighed in 4 pounds over the welterweight non-title limit and was fined 30 percent of his purse. He was submitted by Shavkat Rakhmonov in the third round of their featured bout on the main card. Typically, Neal would be ineligible for a post-fight bonus because of the weight miss, but UFC president Dana White said he was giving Neal $50,000 for his part in the Fight of the Night, anyway.
Mana Martinez
Date: March 4
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Division: Flyweight
Final weight: 127
Notes: Mana Martinez weighed in 1 pound over the bantamweight non-title limit and was fined 30 percent of his purse. He lost a majority decision to Cameron Saaiman on the early prelims
Ricardo Ramos
Event: UFC Fight Night 221
Date: March 11
Location: The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas
Division: Featherweight
Final weight: 154
Notes: Ricardo Ramos weighed in 8 pounds over the featherweight non-title limit. His fight against Austin Lingo was canceled.
Jared Gooden
Event: UFC Fight Night 221
Date: March 11
Location: The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas
Division: Welterweight
Final weight: 177
Notes: Jared Gooden weighed in 6 pounds over the bantamweight non-title limit and was fined 30 percent of his purse, but he took the fight on just three days’ notice. He lost a unanimous decision to Carlston Harris to open the early prelims. Gooden also missed weight for a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 194 in 2021.
Malcolm Gordon
Event: UFC 286
Date: March 18
Location: The O2, London
Division: Flyweight
Final weight: 129.5
Notes: Malcolm Gordon came in well north of the flyweight limit for his fight against the highly touted Jake Hadley. It didn’t take Hadley long to put Gordon away in their fight. He needed just 61 seconds for a TKO that stemmed from a body shot. That finish got him $50,000 – plus 30 percent of Gordon’s purse for the weight infraction.
Christian Rodriguez
Event: UFC 287
Date: April 8
Location: Kaseya Center, Miami
Division: Bantamweight
Final weight: 137
Notes: Rodriguez weighed in at 137.5 pounds on his first attempt on the scale, which came late in the two-hour window. He was given one hour to cut to the bantamweight non-title limit, but could only drop another half-pound. He was fined 20 percent of his purse, but his fight against Raul Rosas Jr. to open the main card stayed intact.
Joselyn Edwards
Event: UFC on ESPN 44
Date: April 15
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Mo.
Division: Women’s bantamweight
Final weight: 136.5
Notes: Edwards tried her hand at featherweight in June 2022 with a win over Ramona Pascual. But just seven weeks later, she returned to bantamweight in a short-notice fight and missed the mark ahead of her split decision win over Kim Ji-yeon at UFC 277 in Dallas. She was 1.5 pounds over for that fight. But this time around, without the short-notice limitations, she missed again for her second straight infraction on the scale.
William Gomis
Event: UFC Fight Night 222
Date: April 22
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Featherweight
Final weight: 147
Notes: Gomis’ weight miss was his first in the UFC. He was fined a percentage of his purse, but went on to beat Francis Marshall with a split decision.
Priscila Cachoeira
Event: UFC Fight Night 222
Date: April 22
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Women’s flyweight
Final weight: 130
Notes: Priscila Cachoeira is no stranger to issues on the scale. At UFC Fight Night 222, her fight against Karine Silva was canceled when she came in four pounds over the women’s flyweight limit. In 2019, Cachoeira was suspended when she tested positive for banned substances that included a diuretic. In October 2021, her fight against Cortney Casey was scrapped on weigh-in day due to issues on the scale for Cachoeira. At UFC 269, Cachoeira missed weight by three pounds, then was submitted by Gillian Robertson. The issue against Silva is one more stain.
Irina Alekseeva
Event: UFC Fight Night 223
Date: April 29
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Women’s bantamweight
Final weight: 140
Notes: Alekseeva missed the women’s bantamweight non-title limit of 136 by four pounds and was fined 30 percent of her purse for her bout against Stephanie Egger, who was on the money at 135. Alekseeva, known as the “Russian Ronda” for her judo skills and comparison to Ronda Rousey, was a highly touted signing. Her fight against Egger was her UFC debut, and she had an impressive first-round submission finish.
Hailey Cowan
Event: UFC Fight Night 223
Date: April 29
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Women’s bantaweight
Final weight: 137.5
Notes: Cowan missed the women’s bantamweight non-title limit of 136 by 1.5 pounds and was fined 20 percent of her purse for her card opener against the debuting Jamey-Lyn Horth. It was Cowan’s first weight miss in the UFC, though when she was a flyweight, she had a fight canceled under the LFA banner due to a failed weight cut. Horth took a unanimous decision from Cowan on fight night.
Joseph Holmes
Event: UFC 288
Date: May 6
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
Division: Middleweight
Final weight: 189
Notes: Holmes missed the middleweight non-title limit by 3 pounds. Prior to his trip to the scale at the official weigh-ins, Holmes posted on social media that he was going to miss weight for the first time in his career, and indeed he did. Holmes was fined 20 percent of his first, but his bout against Claudio Ribeiro went on at a catchweight. In the fight, Ribeiro finished Holmes with a second-round knockout.
Rafael Estevam
Event: UFC 288
Date: May 6
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
Division: Flyweight
Final weight: N/A
Notes: Rafael Estevam (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) never made a trip to the official weigh-ins scale for his scheduled flyweight fight against Zhalgas Zhumagulov (14-8 MMA, 1-5 UFC). Zhumagulov hit 125 pounds without issue, but UFC officials announced during the weigh-ins that Estevam was out of the fight due to weight-cutting issues. Estevam is a former bantamweight, but has fought at flyweight the past few years, including a win on Dana White’s Contender Series that got him into the UFC.
Pete Rodriguez
Event: UFC on ABC 4
Date: May 13
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.
Division: Lightweight
Final weight: N/A
Notes: Pete Rodriguez (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) never made a trip to the official weigh-ins scale for his scheduled lightweight fight against Natan Levy (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC). UFC officials announced during the weigh-ins that Rodriguez was out of the fight due to weight-cutting issues. Rodriguez has spent his pro career so far at welterweight, including two 175-pound contract weight fights to open his career. He was scheduled to fight Levy two weeks ago, but had to pull out with an illness, which makes his UFC on ABC 4 cancellation two straight. He was cutting to lightweight for the first time.
Bryan Battle
Event: UFC on ABC 4
Date: May 13
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.
Division: Welterweight
Final weight: 173
Notes: With 10 minutes left in the two-hour weigh-in window, Bryan Battle (8-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) was two pounds heavy for his welterweight bout against Gabe Green (11-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who weighed in at 170.5 pounds and was the third fighter to the scale. In the fight, Battle put Green away in 14 seconds for the sixth fastest finish in UFC welterweight history. Even though he should have been ineligible for a bonus because he missed weight, UFC president Dana White gave him an extra $50,000, anyway.
Vanessa Demopoulos
Event: UFC Fight Night 224
Date: May 20
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Women’s strawweight
Final weight: 117.5
Notes: Vanessa Demopoulos (9-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) came in 1.5 pounds too heavy for her women’s strawweight bout against Karolina Kowalkiewicz (14-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) on the preliminary card. She was fined 20 percent of her purse. Demopoulos’ UFC debut came at flyweight, but she moved back to strawweight and made weight three times in 2022 in a perfect 3-0 run.
Orion Cosce
Event: UFC Fight Night 224
Date: May 20
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Welterweight
Final weight: 172.5
Notes: Orion Cosce (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) came in 1.5 pounds heavy for his welterweight fight on the prelims against Gilbert Urbina (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). He was fined 20 percent of his purse. It was the second straight time Cosce missed weight. He was 1.5 pounds heavy ahead of a UFC 277 win over Blood Diamond in July 2022, as well.
Loik Radzhabov
Event: UFC on ABC 5
Date: June 24
Location: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Fla.
Division: Lightweight
Final weight: 157.25
Notes: Loik Radzhabov (17-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was a little more than a pound over the lightweight limit for his preliminary card fight against Mateusz Rebecki (17-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and was fined 20 percent of his purse.
Kleydson Rodrigues
Event: UFC on ABC 5
Date: June 24
Location: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Fla.
Division: Flyweight
Final weight: 129
Notes: Kleydson Rodrigues (8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) came in well over the flyweight limit at 129 pounds for his preliminary card fight against Tatsuro Taira (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC). Subsequently, their fight was canceled. Rodrigues is the first two-time weight offender in the UFC in 2023. He was 127 pounds for his 59-second knockout win over Shannon Ross in March.
Jalin Turner
Event: UFC 290
Date: July 8
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Division: Lightweight
Final weight: 158
Notes: Jalin Turner (13-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) was the last fighter to come to the scale and was two pounds heavy for his fight against Dan Hooker (22-12 MMA, 12-8 UFC) on the main card. Turner did not attempt a further cut and was fined 20 percent of his purse. It was his first weight miss in the UFC.
Vinicius Salvador
Event: UFC 291
Date: July 29
Location: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
Division: Flyweight
Final weight: 128.5
Notes: Vinicius Salvador (14-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was 2.5 pounds heavy for his flyweight fight against CJ Vergara (11-4-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) on the UFC 291 early prelims. He was fined 20 percent of his show purse. The Utah commission doesn’t allow fighters extra time after a weight miss.
Michel Pereira
Event: UFC 291
Date: July 29
Location: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
Division: Welterweight
Final weight: 174
Notes: Michel Pereira (28-11 MMA, 6-2 UFC) badly missed the welterweight limit for his featured main card bout against two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson (17-6-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC), who made 170.5 without issue. The Utah commission doesn’t allow fighters extra time after a weight miss. Several hours after the official weigh-ins, just ahead of the ceremonials, the fight was announced as off, a direct result of Pereira’s miss.
Dennis Buzukja
Event: UFC on ESPN 50
Date: Aug. 5
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
Division: Featherweight
Final weight: 146.5
Notes: It’s hard to not feel a little bad for Dennis Buzukja (11-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on this list. Buzukja missed weight by a half-pound for his UFC debut against Sean Woodson (9-1-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC), but he took the fight on just a few days’ notice. Although he came to the scale with a few minutes left in the two-hour window and technically could have been given another hour to drop the final half-pound, the commission reportedly made him stop cutting and fined him 20 percent of his purse.
Tafon Nchukwi
Event: UFC on ESPN 51
Date: Aug. 12
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Middleweight
Final weight: 189.5
Notes: Tafon Nchukwi (6-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) came to the scale with about 30 minutes left in the two-hour official window and was 3.5 pounds heavy for the middleweight non-title limit. His opponent, AJ Dobson (6-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC), successfully made weight a few minutes later. Nchukwi was fined a percentage of his purse.
Josh Fremd
Event: UFC on ESPN 51
Date: Aug. 12
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Middleweight
Final weight: 189
Notes: Josh Fremd (10-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) came to the scale with 10 minutes left in the two-hour official window and was 3 pounds heavy for the middleweight non-title limit. His opponent, Jamie Pickett (13-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC), was on weight at 186. Fremd was fined a percentage of his purse.
Christian Rodriguez
Event: UFC Fight Night 230
Date: Oct. 13
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Bantamweight
Final weight: 140
Notes: Christian Rodriguez (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was four pounds over the bantamweight limit for his main card opener against South Africa’s Cameron Saaiman (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who made weight without issue. Rodriguez’s miss on the scale was his second straight, which makes him the second fighter in 2023 to appear on this list twice. He came in over the mark in April, then beat Raul Rosas. In July, he pulled out of a fight against Saaiman. And now that it’s rebooked, he has his second straight miss. If the UFC’s eyes, it’ll be three misses overall, though. Two years ago, Rodriguez was one of just a few fighters in the show’s history to miss weight for a Dana White’s Contender Series fight. Rodriguez’s fight with Saaiman was approved by the commission to go forward, and Rodriguez was fined 25 percent of his purse.
Mike Breeden
Event: UFC 294
Date: Oct. 20
Location: Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi
Division: Lightweight
Final weight: 159.5
Notes: Mike Breeden (10-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) was well over the lightweight limit for his fight on the prelims against Anshul Jubli (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), a highly regarded prospect from India. Breeden made his UFC debut in 2021 on short notice and missed weight for what turned out to be a knockout loss to Alexander Hernandez. He heads into UFC 294 on a three-fight skid with setbacks in all three of his UFC bouts.
Victoria Dudakova
Event: UFC 294
Date: Oct. 20
Location: Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi
Division: Women’s strawweight
Final weight: 116.6
Notes: Victoria Dudakova (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was just 0.6 pounds over the mark for her women’s strawweight bout against Jinh Yu Frey (11-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC). The unbeaten 24-year-old Russian was fined 20 percent of her purse.
Ismael Bonfim
Event: UFC Fight Night 231
Date: Nov. 4
Location: Ginasio Do Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo
Division: Lightweight
Final weight: 159.5
Notes: Bonfim (19-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) missed weight for the first time in his UFC career for his fight against Vinc Pichel (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC). He didn’t attempt an additional cut after the miss on his first attempt less than an hour into the weigh-ins window. Pichel also missed weight on his first attempt, but used his additional hour to hit the mark at 155.5 pounds. Not long after that, the fight was canceled.
Eduarda Moura
Event: UFC Fight Night 231
Date: Nov. 4
Location: Ginasio Do Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo
Division: Women’s strawweight
Final weight: 119.5
Notes: Moura (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was the biggest betting favorite on the entire card for her UFC debut against Montserrat Conejo (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC), but she missed weight badly on her first attempt about an hour into the weigh-ins window and didn’t attempt an additional cut. Conejo weighed in at 114, two pounds under the non-title limit, early in the proceedings. Moura was fined 30 percent of her purse.
Victor Hugo
Event: UFC Fight Night 231
Date: Nov. 4
Location: Ginasio Do Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo
Division: Bantamweight
Final weight: 138.5
Notes: Hugo (24-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) missed weight for his promotional debut against Daniel Marcos (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC). It’s a fight he took on short notice less than three weeks out. Marcos weighed in at 136. After the official weigh-in window, the fight was canceled.
Jamall Emmers
Event: UFC 295
Date: Nov. 11
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York
Division: Featherweight
Final weight: 147
Notes: Emmers (19-7 MMA, 2-3 UFC) was over the featherweight limit for his preliminary card curtain jerker against Dennis Buzukja (11-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who made weight without issue. Emmers will be fined a percentage of his fight purse. In New York, only fighters in title bouts are allowed extra time to try to make weight, so Emmers didn’t have an additional hour like he would have had under most commissions’ rules.
Roosevelt Roberts
Event: UFC 295
Date: Nov. 11
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York
Division: Lightweight
Final weight: 158
Notes: Roberts (12-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) took his fight with Mateusz Rebecki (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) on short notice and was the last fighter to come to the scale during the two-hour official weigh-in window and likely has experienced less exhausting trips to the scale. Roberts will be fined a percentage of his fight purse. In New York, only fighters in title bouts are allowed extra time to try to make weight.
Lucas Alexander
Event: UFC Fight Night 232
Date: Nov. 18
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Featherweight
Final weight: 148
Notes: Lucas Alexander (8-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) came in two pounds heavy for his fight against Jeka Saragih (13-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the prelims. He’ll be fined a percentage of his purse – likely 20 percent. Saragih was on the mark at 146.
Rafael Estevam
Event: UFC Fight Night 232
Date: Nov. 18
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Flyweight
Final weight: 128
Notes: Rafael Estevam (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) missed the mark for his promotional debut against Charles Johnson (13-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) to open the prelims. He’ll be fined a percentage of his purse – likely 20 percent. Johnson was on point at 125.
Luana Santos
Event: UFC Fight Night 233
Date: Dec. 9
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Division: Bantamweight
Final weight: 139
Notes: Luana Santos weighed three pounds over the bantamweight non-title limit and was fined 20 percent of her purse.
