- Charles Oliveira hit the scale and was a one-half pound over the lightweight limit
- “Do Bronx” still considers himself the UFC’s 155-pound champ
Everyone in attendance, including Charles Oliveira himself, was stunned after the UFC lightweight champion missed weight at the UFC 274 official weigh-ins Friday. The UFC released a statement and stripped Oliveira of the lightweight title.
UFC 274 Weigh-In Results: Charles Oliveira Misses Weight, Stripped Of Title https://t.co/c0MRaftn8S via @middleeasy
— MiddleEasy (@MiddleEasy) May 6, 2022
It’s still a title fight
For those who are wondering, the UFC stated that the championship bout will still commence but only Justin Gaethje can compete for the 155-pound strap. Oliveira will vacate the title tomorrow night and will also have a portion of his purse forfeited.
“Due to the weight miss, Oliveira will forfeit a percentage of his purse,” the UFC’s press release read. “As of this moment, Charles Oliveira remains the UFC Lightweight Champion, but upon the start of the Main Event Headliner tomorrow night he will vacate the 155-pound title. The fight will proceed as scheduled, but the championship will only be on the line for Gaethje. If Oliveira wins, he will be the number one contender for the vacant Lightweight Championship and will fight the next challenger for the undisputed title belt at a time and place to be determined.”
Still the champion
Speaking after the weigh-ins, a shocked Oliveira insisted that he can’t understand why he went over the limit when he didn’t consume even a single drop of water the night before.
More importantly, “Do Bronx” is certain he is still the champion regardless of what the UFC says.
“If they thought it was going to frustrate me, they’re going to see a Charles 10 times better. I’m ready for this. The champion’s name is Charles Oliveira, there’s no one else. The champion has a name. His name is Charles Oliveira,” Oliveira said via MMA Junkie. “The story is that I went up to my room. I made weight on the UFC scale on Thursday night. I go up to my room (and) didn’t consume anything. No water, no food, no anything. 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 following day and it’s a pound over.”
“I’m looking at it. I’m one kilogram over, actually,” he added. “I’m one over and I don’t understand what happened. I can’t understand. We work. We’re professionals. I didn’t do anything wrong. To me, it just didn’t make sense. Other fighters started talking about it as well. They started talking about those 200 grams, 300 grams. It was exactly the difference of the scale with the UFC. This is what we’re going back to. The champion has a name. His name is Charles Oliveira.”
Oliveira’s weight miss will cause a shakeup in the lightweight division, especially if he beats Gaethje. It will be interesting to see how things will play out as there are a host of top contenders worthy of a title shot.
