UFC fighters have taken to social media to complain of a faulty scale after lightweight champion Charles Oliveira was stripped of his title after weighing in heavy.
Oliveira was half a pound over the 155lb limit and was unable to lose it in the extra hour he was allowed. His belt is now only on the line for Justin Gaethje in tonight's title fight at UFC 274.
If Oliveira wins, the title will be vacant and the Brazilian will take on the next leading contender for his old belt later this year. But a conspiracy theory began to emerge as fighters complained the 'test' scale they used before the official weigh-in was faulty.
Ariane Carnelossi said: “Congrats to the 'genius' that messed with the fighter’s scale leaving it with a 0.5lb difference. We only found out when we were informed as we were coming down to check our official Weight. Luckly I was under so that didn't hurt me." Former UFC strawweight Claudia Gadelha added: "Congratulations to the dumb f*** that messed up the scale for weigh-ins this am. Now we got a real problem."
Matt Schnell, who will feature on tonight's card, confirmed the scale was wrong. "We were all given ample warning. I was told at 7:30am that the scale was off. Thought I only had .4 to go. I actually had to cut 1.2," he wrote, while flyweight Casey O'Neill added: "Apparently scale out the back said he was on weight and then official up front said he wasn’t. For context, we weigh in twice in front of officials before we head to the real scale, once at the hotel and once at the back of the arena. Two scales say he is 145, official says 145.5"
Will Charles Oliveira beat Justin Gaethje? Let us know in the comments section below
The Arizona Department of Gaming, who are licensing the UFC 274 show, insisted the official scale was correct. In a statement, they said: “Promoters are allowed to use the scale of their choice for official weigh-ins, as long as it has been deemed appropriately calibrated by Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission Staff. Staff reviewed the official weigh-in scale to ensure proper calibration and found no issues prior to and during the official weigh-in.
"Any scales used for any purpose other than official weigh-ins (such as those that may be used for fighters to unofficially test their weight) are not calibrated or inspected by Commission Staff as they are typically provided by the Promoter, not the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission.”
