White: How Do You Not Make Weight?
UFC president Dana White was not thrilled that Deiveson Figueiredo missed weight.
Figueiredo was set to face Joseph Benavidez for the vacant flyweight title in the main event of UFC Norfolk tonight. However, Figueiredo missed weight by a 2.5 pounds and was unable to make the championship limit of 125 pounds.
That means only Benavidez will be eligible to win the title whereas the belt will still remain vacant even if Figueiredo ends up winning the fight. It’s not an ideal situation and White made sure to bash the Brazilian while doing his weekly preview of the fights.
“Let’s start with the main event — Joseph Benavidez vs Deiveson,” White said. “For those of you who don’t know, Deiveson did not make weight. Insane. Unprofessional. How do you show up for a title fight and not make weight?
“What does this mean? It means that if Benavidez wins the fight, he is the new champion. If Deiveson wins the fight, the championship goes vacant.”
A similar situation occurred at UFC 225 two years ago when Yoel Romero missed weight for his middleweight title fight with Robert Whittaker. In the end, Whittaker came out on top.
The UFC will certainly be hoping Benavidez does the same.
