Charles Oliveira knew he was up for his fight against Justin Getzhi at UFC 274 on Saturday night. But when the Do Bronx stepped on the scales at the official weigh-in, the announced weight was not what he expected to hear.
Oliveira weighed 155.5 pounds, half a pound above the championship limit. The stunned Oliveira was given another hour to lose the extra 0.5 pounds, but that would not be enough, as he weighed 155.5 pounds again. The UFC then revealed that he would not only lose a percentage of his bag, but would be stripped of his lightweight title as soon as his fight with Gaethje began.
The future champion was adamant that he did everything right during his weight loss, telling Megan Olive during the ESPN ceremonial weigh-in that he stopped eating and drinking on Thursday after reaching the championship weight. So it was strange to miss the target.
“The champion has a name. His name is Charles Oliveira, “Oliveira said through an interpreter. “The story is that I went up to my room. I gained weight on the UFC scale on Thursday night. I went to my room, consumed nothing. No water, no food, nothing. I swear to God. In the name of my daughter, the most sacred thing in my life. I went to bed. I wake up the next day and it’s over a pound.
“I’m looking at it,” Oliveira continued. “Actually, I’m a pound heavier. I’m one over and I don’t understand what happened. I can not understand. We are working. We are professionals. I haven’t done anything wrong. It just didn’t make sense to me. Other fighters began to talk about it. They started talking about those 200 grams, 300 grams, and that was exactly the difference on the scale with the UFC. So that’s what we’re coming back to. The champion has a name. His name is Charles Oliveira.
Oliveira was one of several fighters who say the test scale used at the hotel for fighter jets has been ruled out. Ariane Carnelosi of the UFC in the straw category told Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting that she was reset before the official weigh-in, so there is a difference of 0.5 pounds. In the UFC welterweight division, Norma Dumont confirmed the claim, but she still lost 0.5 pounds.
Despite an unexpected turnaround, Oliveira has not lost any confidence and will be more than ready to deal with Gaethje on the night of the fight.
“If you think this will disappoint me, you are wrong. The champion has a name. His name is Charles Oliveira and I will come out amazing.
UFC 274 comes out on Saturday, May 7, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
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