"Scale out the back said he was on weight" - UFC fighters give take on alleged "heavy" scale leading to Charles Oliveira being stripped of title
The MMA community worldwide was shocked when news of Charles Oliveira missing weight and being stripped of the lightweight title broke out. According to some UFC fighters that were present at the morning weigh-ins, a "heavy" scale led to the whole situation.
All UFC fighters fighting at the upcoming event must attend morning weigh-ins, where they're weighed under the supervision of state athletic commission representatives. They’re the ones who provide the official scale and acknowledge each fighter's weight.
According to Casey Oneill, Charles Oliveira weighed in on the unofficial scale and apparently made the weight, only to step on the official one and be over the 155 lbs limit:
"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 infront of officials before we head to the real scale, once at the hotel and once at the back of the arena. 2 scales say he is 145, official says 145.5"
Check out the tweet below:
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 infront of officials before we head to the real scale, once at the hotel and once at the back of the arena. 2 scales say he is 145, official says 145.5
A few minutes later, Ariane Carnelossi posted on Twitter that someone "messed" up the official weight, which could result in it showing a 0,5 lbs difference.
Carnelossi wrote on Twitter:
"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 didnt hurt me."
Check out the tweet below:
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 didnt hurt me.
In the midst of the confusion, former light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier posted on Twitter that Charles Oliveira shouldn’t be stripped of the title because of a "heavy" scale.
If the scale being heavy is true that cannot happen! Unfortunate turn at UFC 274!
‘Do Bronx’ was scheduled to defend his 155 lbs championship against Justin Gaethje. However, the Brazilian missed weight by 0.5 lbs and was given an additional hour to make the cut.
He failed to do so and it was announced that he will retain the UFC lightweight title until the moment he steps inside the octagon at UFC 274.
When that happens, the title will be vacant, with Justin Gaethje being the only one eligible to win it. This marks the first time in UFC history that a champion has lost his title on the scale.
Charles Oliveira’s coach blames the hotel scale for his student's mishap
Per Chute Box coach Diego Lima, the hotel scale was responsible for Charles Oliveira missing weight as he weighed in on the hotel scale, which showed that he was within the 155 lbs limit.
‘Do Bronx’ stepped on the hotel scale the night before weigh-ins and made the weight. He went to bed and stepped on it again in the morning to the same result.
He then attended the official morning weigh-ins where the incident took place. During his interview with the Brazilian news outlet Combate, Diego Lima said:
"We went to sleep on weight, we checked the weight on the scale the organization leaves for us downstairs and everything was OK," Lima said. "When we checked it in the morning, [his weight] was off. We even posted last night that he had made weight because that’s what really happened. You’re witnesses of this, Charles has never missed weight since he moved up to 155. Even when there was no belt [on the line], he was under the limit, he didn’t use the pound allowance."