UFC Jacksonville is down a fight after a hiccup at the scales on Friday morning.
The Fight Night event is set to be headlined by featherweights Josh Emmett and Ilia Topuria, but it’s the card-opener between Tatsuro Taira and Kleydson Rodrigues that has been lost. That, after Rodrigues hit the scales a full three pounds north of the non-title flyweight limit at the card’s official weigh-in.
Taira for his part weighed in successfully.
UFC officials confirmed the bout’s cancellation in a brief statement posted to the promotion’s official website on Friday.
“The flyweight bout between Tatsuro Taira and Kleydson Rodrigues has been cancelled from this weekend’s card due to Rodrigues being three pounds (129 lbs.) over the weight limit,” the statement reads.
Friday was not the first time Rodrigues has missed the flyweight limit. The Brazilian, sporting an 8-2 record as a professional, also missed weight in his last fight, hitting 127 pounds for his UFC 284 match-up with Shannon Ross.
Given Rodrigues steamrolled his opponent in all of 59 seconds, the one-pound overage was quickly forgotten. That won’t be the case here, with Rodrigues’ weight management issues scrapping a fight with a highly-touted Japanese prospect in Taira.
A winner on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, Rodrigues is 1-1 in the UFC proper to date.
UFC Jacksonville takes place Saturday, June 24, 2023 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The main card airs live on ABC.
