5 most controversial weight misses in UFC history
In the world of the UFC, while it’s important for fighters to be able to perform at their best in the octagon, it’s also important that they can actually make the weight for whichever division they’ve decided to compete in. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
Charles Oliveira missed the 155-pound limit for his lightweight title fight after receiving an additional hour to lose .5 pounds and has been stripped of his title.
The #UFC274 main event will commence, but only Justin Gaethje has the opportunity to win the UFC title. https://t.co/W7tc8ZCeZk
Every UFC event seems to feature at least one fighter missing their allotted weight limit. Sometimes, these weight misses can be more controversial than others.
Whether that’s because the weight miss comes in a title bout, or whether it’s because a fighter misses the mark hugely doesn’t matter, these incidents always produce major talking points afterwards.
With that in mind, here are the five most controversial weight misses in UFC history.
#5. Travis Lutter vs. Anderson Silva – UFC 67
Back in late 2006, the UFC decided on a somewhat controversial method to decide the next two title challengers in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. The promotion offered a shot to the winners of the tournaments on the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The reason why this was controversial was that the cast of that series was made up of fighters who’d essentially washed out of the promotion previously, meaning that to many observers, the winners were being given a chance to jump to the front of the queue for a title shot over and above more deserving contenders.
Eventually, Matt Serra won the welterweight title shot, while Travis Lutter won the middleweight one. To say their outcomes were different would be a huge understatement.
Lutter, christened ‘The Serial Killer’ by his castmates thanks to his stoic nature, was handed his shot at new middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva at UFC 67, the first pay-per-view event of 2007. Unfortunately, when the weigh-ins for the event came around, it was clear something was wrong.
The challenger looked downright unwell, sporting a shaved head and a pallid complexion, and it came as no surprise when he weighed in at 187 pounds, two pounds over the allotted 185-pound limit. Even stripping naked behind a towel couldn’t rescue Lutter, and the fight was swiftly changed into a non-title one.
Shades of Anderson Silva vs. Travis Lutter at UFC 67. Lutter, the challenger, missed weight, while Silva made weight. So it became a three-round non-title fight, which Silva won.
Naturally, both the fans and the promotion itself were furious with this turn of events. Essentially, Silva was forced into a largely meaningless bout against an opponent who hadn’t really earned his shot.
Thankfully, ‘The Spider’ put an end to any further possible controversies by submitting Lutter with a triangle choke in the second round of their clash. Unsurprisingly, ‘The Serial Killer’ never got close to another title shot again.