JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Phil Rowe has impressed in the cage, but issues on the scale have caused people to talk, namely the UFC commentators, which hasn’t sat well with the rising welterweight contender.
In what will be his fifth fight in the promotion at UFC on ABC 5, Rowe (10-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) meets the UFC welterweight wins record holder, Neil Magny (27-11 MMA, 20-9 UFC). The bout serves as Saturday’s feature preliminary bout at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and airs on ESPN and ESPN+.
At Wednesday’s pre-fight media day, Rowe relayed some frustration about what he has heard on the microphone from the UFC commentators about his issues on the scale and his position as an up-and-coming fighter with three stoppage wins in the octagon. Although for two of those bouts, Rowe came in above the welterweight limit.
“I just missed weight, you know?” Rowe told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “What’s a weird thing too with MMA? Weight cutting. There’s nothing natural about weight cutting. I listened to commentators, and commentators are silly people because if you watch all my fights, every fight for whatever reason, I’m always the underdog. I don’t know why, but I am – which, I don’t care.
“Every single fight, if you listen to them talk about me, it’s very weird. They speak on me like, I don’t know, it’s always negative until the guy is laid out in front of me.”
Rowe weighed 173.5 pounds for his UFC on ESPN 42 bout against Niko Price in December and weighed the same for his UFC on ESPN 28 bout against Orion Cosce in 2021. But between those bouts, there was no issue on the scale for Rowe’s fight against Jason Witt at UFC Fight Night 200 in February 2022. Despite what the scale read, Rowe showed up on fight night and finished each of those opponents.
“Everyone talks about if you miss weight, you had a bad camp or things didn’t go right,” Rowe said. “There is nothing natural about making weight. You can bust your ass for eight weeks, do everything right, and then two hours before the fight, miscalculate or don’t get in the sauna long enough. And then all of a sudden, you didn’t train hard enough, and now in the fight it’s like, ‘Well, he missed weight so, let’s see.”
“That sh*t ain’t normal. Cutting 25 pounds is not normal. I missed weight. Not my coaches, not my nutritionist. It was my fault, it was a time error thing. I was in Orlando at home, I didn’t stay at the fighter hotel. I decided to wake up very late, I got to the sauna, I didn’t have enough time. … But then you listen to these weenies on the mic talk, ‘Man, he wasn’t working hard enough, he cut weight.’ They don’t know sh*t. Cutting weight ain’t natural. I’ll make weight. I’m gonna show up, I’m gonna rumble, and try to knock this guy’s head off.”
If Rowe is successful against Magny, he may find himself in the UFC’s promotional rankings next week. This time around, he promises everything will be smooth on the scale, and then it’s time to worry about handling business inside the cage.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 5.
