It should come as no surprise, but Julija Stoliarenko has officially been removed from the UFC Vegas 22 card on Saturday.
The Lithuanian fighter had been expected to face Julia Avila in the card-opener at the event. However, at Friday morning’s weigh-in, Stoliarenko (9-4-2) fainted while on the scale. Not once, but twice. The scary scene was one of the most shocking weigh-in mishaps in recent memory, and saw Stoliarenko stumble backwards before falling off the scale during her initial weigh-in attempt. After being attended to for several minutes by staff and sitting upright, Stoliarenko was shockingly allowed to make another attempt at weighing in — a decision that will no doubt raise questions with the athletic commission. First and foremost, as to why they allowed her to get back on the scale.
Stoliarenko, a former Invicta FC bantamweight champion, did make weight. She then appeared to struggle getting off the scales, and fainted a second time. That led to paramedics (always on standby during weigh-ins) entering, and removing the fighter via stretcher.
Julija Stoliarenko being taken out on a stretcher after fainting #UFCVegas22 pic.twitter.com/GysHHly3sM
— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) March 19, 2021
UFC officials later announced the cancellation of the bout.
Saturday would have marked Stoliarenko’s third bout inside the octagon. She made her UFC debut at the TUF 28 finale, after competing as a featherweight on the show. Last August, she returned to the octagon, losing a unanimous decision to Yana Kunitskaya.
Prior to and after her Ultimate Fighter run, Stoliarenko competed as a bantamweight, although she had participated in a couple of catchweight bouts north of 140lbs.
