Liam Harrison will not be competing Friday at ONE 167 in his scheduled muay thai bout against Katsuki Kitano. Harrison announced the news on Friday morning via a video and a statement on his Instagram which he reposted to his other social media pages.
Harrison, a fan favorite, has competed four times under the ONE Championship banner and has gone 2-2. Now 38 years old, Harrison has not competed in nearly two years as he was sidelined by injury.
A visibly and understandably frustrated Harrison detailed the events leading to the controversy on the scale Thursday. Liam says that a couple hours prior, he passed the hydration test and got approval from a ONE Championship representative that he was on weight.
“On the day of the weigh-in, we asked the official ONE representative to check my weight on the official scales. I weighed in at 143lbs. and was advised to drink some water as I was under.”
After consuming 500ml or less, which is 1.1lbs. of water maximum, Harrison returned to the scale a few hours later for the official weigh ins.
“During the official weigh-in, after passing the hydration test, the same scales indicated I was 146 lbs. It is not possible to have put 3 lbs. on from the weight check after consuming less than 500 ml of water and urinating.” illustrated Liam.
It also explains Liam’s reaction of shock and disbelief at the official ONE 167 weigh ins that were streamed live to YouTube. Liam hadn’t missed weight in some 12 years, never under the ONE banner, and reflected, “Knowing this was broadcast live worldwide was humiliating.”
In his post, Liam states that the only way that this could have happened is, “Human error during the initial weigh-in or improper calibration of the scales during the weight check.” And in no way could blame be placed on Harrison or his team, hence his refusal to attempt to make weight again.
“Agreeing to do so under these circumstances would imply that I accept the initial failure, which is not the case. The error was not on my part, and it is unreasonable to expect me to re-make weight given these facts.”
Liam also detailed in his post his disappointment with the lack of accountability from ONE Championship in the matter stating, “ONE championship’s refusal to acknowledge their part in this error and their insistence that I re-make weight is unacceptable. I have yet to receive an apology or any accountability from ONE Championship.”
Harrison, who is already scheduled for a huge fight against Saeksan Or Kwanmuang in September, talked about how ultimately, it just doesn’t make sense to go ahead with the fight, now.
There’d be no chance to win a performance bonus and Liam wouldn’t be eligible for his opponent’s purse- who missed weight. Liam’s opponent, Katsuki Kitano, failed the hydration test three times and tipped the scales at 149lbs. when he officially passed said hydration test. Simply put by Liam,
“The potential for injury and the impact on my reputation outweigh the now diminished rewards.”
At the very least this situation raises some very big questions of that specific ONE representative and of the promotion itself. And as Harrison would go on to state towards the end of his post how important of a moment this instance is for the fair practices of the sport moving forward.
