This again?
Some fighters clearly have a bigger issue with the early weigh-ins than others.
Yoel Romero will no longer be fighting for the UFC middleweight title this weekend after missing weight on the eve of UFC 225.
Romero was scheduled to rematch champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of the Octagon’s return to Chicago but, yet again, weight-cutting problems got in the way.
‘The Soldier of God’ initially hit the scales at 186lbs and was given an additional hour to cut down to the limit of 185lbs but when he emerged 57 minutes later, he could only make it as low at 185.2lbs, making him ineligible to fight for the championship.
Whittaker came in early and on target at 185lbs and negotiations will now take place to figure out what to do with the contest.
The only two options on the table at the time of writing are to either make the fight a non-title bout or to cancel it altogether.
VIDEO: Yoel Romero misses weight on his second attempt, putting his #UFC225 fight with Robert Whittaker in doubt. It can no longer be for the UFC middleweight title. Story here https://t.co/s4hbQO04xK pic.twitter.com/6sSzYJvjEE
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 8, 2018
Whittaker, who claimed a unanimous decision over Romero last July, was asked earlier this week about the recent spate of missed weights among his UFC peers.
“I think you do have to get on with it and move on, that’s the inevitable outcome,” Whittaker told ESPN.
“But it makes me upset. It would make me upset if my opponent missed weight because I believe making weight is half the job; if you don’t make 84.5 [kilos, 186lbs] then we’re not in the same weight division. I don’t even know how that’s [missing weight] a thing?
“If we’re not the same weight, we’re not the same weight; we’re in different weight divisions. It’s ridiculous to think about it.”
In missing weight for UFC 225, Romero became the first fighter in the organisation’s history to come in heavy for more than one title fight as the Cuban wrestler weighed in at 187.7lbs for his interim title fight with Luke Rockhold in February.
Middleweight clearly isn’t for him…
