PHOENIX – Charles Oliveira became the first champion in UFC history to lose his title on the scale Friday, but did he really, truly miss weight?
That’s being heavily debated in the aftermath of Oliveira weighing in at 155.5 pounds ahead of Saturday’s UFC 274 main event with Justin Gaethje. The fight will go on, but the Brazilian will vacate the lightweight championship once the bell rings after he failed to register at the championship limit on two attempts. It was a shocking turn of events after Oliveira tweeted before the weigh-ins that he was already on point hours before the weigh-in window opened up (via Twitter).
weight ✔️
peso✔️#UFC274
— Charles 'DoBronxs' Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) May 6, 2022
What went wrong?
The idea of a potential issue with the scale was first broached by MMA Fighting reporter Guilherme Cruz, who cited conversations with multiple fighters on the card who said the backstage scale where fighters check their weight did not properly align with the official scale on stage.
UFC strawweight Ariane Carnelossi claimed on Twitter that an unidentified “genius” tampered with the scale but did not specify in what context. Was it done prior to the weigh-ins beginning? Could she have been referring to Tony Ferguson, who wiggled while standing on the scale during his turn?
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.
— Ariane “Sorriso” Carnelossi (@ArianeSorrisoo) May 6, 2022
“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.”
Retired UFC strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha echoed similar sentiments to Carneloosi’s in a since-deleted tweet.
“Congratulations to the dumb f*ck that messed up the scale for weigh ins this am. Now we got a real problem,” she said.
UFC women’s flyweight prospect Casey O’Neill added to the speculation when she claimed the backstage scale was not identical to that on stage (via Twitter):
“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”
Additionally, UFC 274 fighter Matt Schnell posted on Instagram that all fighters were informed of a scale issue and told to cut additional weight (via Instagram):
“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”
Former Bellator champ and UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler declined comment when MMA Junkie asked if his pre-check weight was the same as the 156 pounds that was read when he officially weighed in.
Nevertheless, the toothpaste appears to be out of the tube, and there’s no putting it back in. UFC officials confirmed in a statement that the Oliveira forfeiture of the belt stands as soon as he steps in the octagon Saturday. Oliveira (32-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) can’t reclaim the belt with a win over Gaethje, but if he emerges victorious, he will immediately fight for the vacant strap against the next available contender.
Gaethje, meanwhile, will be undisputed champion if he wins.
