Bryan Battle has missed weight for the second straight fight, and this time, it’s led to his UFC 319 match-up with Nursulton Ruziboev being cancelled.
Battle (12-2, 1NC) came in heavy at Friday’s UFC 319 official weigh-in in Chicago, with Cageside Press on hand. Stepping on the scale at 190lbs, he was a full four pounds heavy for the preliminary card match-up.
Winner of The Ultimate Fighter 29 in 2021 as a middleweight, Battle later dropped to 170lbs, but missed weight twice there. The first miss came in 2023, where Battle blew weight for a fight with Gabe Green that he won via knockout (picking up a Performance bonus despite the flub at the scales). The second miss came in his most recent outing, a split decision win over Randy Brown.
Those fights, at welterweight, were no doubt behind Bryan Battle moving up. Missing weight as a middleweight, however, is more concerning.
Ruziboev was not happy with Friday’s weight miss, posting a note with a pig emoji on his Instagram Story. “Instead of talking too much, you need to make the weight first. This is a professional sport Blondie.”
The UFC has since issued a brief statement on the bout’s cancellation. “Due to Bryan Battle weighing in over the middleweight limit, his bout against Nursulton Ruziboev has been cancelled from this weekend’s event.”
UFC 319 takes place on Saturday, August 16, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
