In a rather dubious distinction for the UFC, four fighters missed weight for UFC Vegas 64 on Friday morning.
It was initially five, though one fighter chopped her hair to hit the mark in her third attempt to come in under the limit.
That’s the worst meltdown at the scales since UFC Vegas 19 in February 2021, when another four UFC athletes came in heavy. Friday’s haul marks one of the worst weigh-in mornings in UFC history, though thankfully (say, unlike UFC 279), no major fallout has come out of the debacle.
Friday’s offenders are: Grant Dawnson, Benito Lopez, Carlos Candelario, and Ramona Pascual.
For Dawson, it’s a second weight miss. Coming in heavy for a featherweight fight in February of 2020 is actually what spurred Dawson’s move to lightweight in the first place. Ahead of UFC Vegas 64, he missed weight for the second time in his career, hitting the scales at 157.5 pounds.
Ramona Pascual, who has previously fought at featherweight, came in heavy for her bantamweight fight against newcomer Tamires Vidal. She missed weight by a single pound. At 0-2 inside the octagon she is almost certainly fighting for her roster spot on Saturday, and the miss does not bode well for her future at 135lbs.
Benito Lopez came in 2.5lbs over the bantamweight limit for his own fight with Mario Bautista. That’s the 28-year old, who fought at flyweight to start his career, has missed weight.
Carlos Candelario received a UFC contract off a loss on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. He lost his debut fight in the UFC, and when you add on the DWCS loss and missing weight, Candelario may be in a jam as well this weekend. He clocked in at 2.5lbs over the flyweight limit for a fight with Jake Hadley.
Shanna Young was actually the focus of our Weight Cutting Chronicles this week, as despite not having missed weight in the past, the cut to 125lbs had become noticeably more difficult for the “Shanimal.” Our concerns proved to be spot-on, as Young came in at 127lbs. However, on her third attempt, after cutting her hair, she came in at 126lbs on the nose, successfully making weight for a rematch with Miranda Maverick.
