In a stunning development this past Friday in Phoenix, UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira missed weight for his title defense against Justin Gaethje.
Even though Oliveira had an extra hour to hit the championship max of 155 pounds, he failed to lose the extra half-pound with the additional time. Consequently, he was stripped of the title.
That meant the belt was only up for grabs at UFC 274 if he lost. But Oliveira (33-8 MMA, 21-8 UFC) submitted Gaethje (23-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), which made the lightweight title vacant. We know Oliveira will get a chance to win it back later this year, but we don’t know whom it will be against.
