In a bizarre circumstance, a fight has been scrapped from UFC 301 – after a fighter successfully made weight.
William Gomis (13-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) struggled to make the walk to the scale Friday in Rio de Janeiro for his featherweight fight on the prelims against Jean Silva (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC). Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, he got on the scale and was 143 pounds – a full 3 pounds under the non-title featherweight limit.
He needed to be helped off the scale and behind the stage, though, and it was reported that he vomited just prior to coming to the scale. His condition was deemed bad enough that the fight was canceled not long after the official weigh-ins.
Pesée validée pour le jaguar 🐆 @WilliamGomisMMA ⚖️ 64,9 kg (143 lb)
📺 Regardez l’#UFC301 dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche sur 🇫🇷 @RMCSport 2 pic.twitter.com/G8DTwhF2Qd
— UFC France (@UFCFRA) May 3, 2024
MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a person with knowledge of the situation in Brazil. The UFC has not yet made a formal announcement after the news first was reported by French outlet LaSueur.
UFC 301 (Pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Gomis has not lost since 2016. He has wins in his first three UFC fights, including a third-round body kick knockout of Yanis Ghemmouri this past September. He was supposed to return in February, but pulled out of a fight against Melsik Baghdasaryan, and now will miss another assignment.
It is not yet known if the UFC will try to keep the fight with Silva intact. Silva was set to fight in front of his home fans in Brazil for the first time in the UFC.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.
