Charles Oliveira is no longer the UFC lightweight champion, but he promises to be as confident as ever as he enters his UFC 274 main event fight with Justin Getzie. The UFC has announced that the 155-pound title will be vacant as soon as Oliveira enters the Octagon on Saturday night, and only Gaethje can take it with a victory, as the Do Bronx lost 0.5 pounds on Friday morning.
Several fighters told MMA Fighting that the scale of the hotel was “confused” and led athletes to believe they were lighter than they actually were. Norma Dumont and Oliveira lost weight for UFC 274, and Oliveira said in an interview with ESPN after the ceremonial weigh-in that she was not mentally affected by the chaotic sequence of events.
“If they think this will disappoint me, they will see Charles 10 times better,” Oliveira said in Portuguese. “I am ready for this. The champion’s name is Charles Oliveira, there is no one else. “
Oliveira has lost weight four times before in the UFC as a welterweight division and has weighed in pounds below the limit several times in the past since moving to the lightweight division, reaching £ 152 for her fight with Jim Miller in 2018. Oliveira and his team posted in social media on Thursday night that he was already overweight, but claimed the hotel scales had led them to believe.
“I did the weight on Thursday night,” Oliveira said. “Man, we’re not here to make up stories. I swear on my daughter’s behalf, the most important thing in my life. I put on weight on the UFC scale on Thursday night, as I do every time. We went there on Friday morning [to check the weight] and was 1 kg [2,2 pounds] over. I said, “This is crazy. I have not drunk or eaten anything, I must be lower than that. You’re crazy.’ And we started this war [cutting weight again].
“Every other fighter [said] the same thing, 300g or 500g [0.6 to 1.1 pounds] over. We saw that they even told the commission that it was over, but they never told us. Still, as a champion, I devoted myself to losing weight and remaining 0.5 pounds, which is exactly 0.5 pounds more in the scales. The champion has a name and his name is Charles Oliveira. I came here to show once again why I am a champion and I will show it. “
The Arizona Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Commission issued a statement to MMA Fighting stating that “any scales used for any purpose other than official weighing (such as those that can be used as fighters to test their weight unofficially) have not been calibrated or inspected by Commission staff, as they are usually provided by the Organizer and not by the Arizona Boxing and MMA Committee.
The UFC did not respond to a request for comment from MMA Fighting.
Oliveira was given an extra hour by the local commission to try to gain weight, but still came back with 0.5 pounds.
“I had already gained weight, so your head is no longer there,” Oliveira said. “I went to the sauna, hit the mats, did everything because I’m a champion. The champion has to do everything to gain weight, even if I thought I had already succeeded [before]. I did everything. I sacrificed myself, but the scales didn’t even move. I weighed the first time with underwear and came with this weight, took it off and it was the same weight. There is no explanation. But the champion has a name and his name is Charles Oliveira. I came here to show once again my story of overcoming and I will overcome once again. “
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