Former UFC lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, doesn't understand how he ended up missing weight ahead of UFC 274.
Oliveira spoke with reporter Megan Olivi at the ceremonial weigh-in festivities for tonight's event and detailed how he had made weight for his scheduled title defense against former interim UFC lightweight champ, Justin Gaethje, on a scale provided by the promotion on Thursday night, but somehow ended up being over the 155-pound limit when he woke up Friday morning. Oliveira has been officially stripped of his title and only Gaethje will be eligible to win the belt now.
“If they thought it was going to frustrate me, they’re going to see a Charles 10 times better,” Oliveira said (h/t MMA Fighting). “I’m ready for this. The champion’s name is Charles Oliveira, there’s no one else. I made weight Thursday night. Man, we’re not here to make up stories. I swear in the name of my daughter, the most important thing in my life. I made weight on UFC’s scale on Thursday night, like I do every time. On Friday morning, we went there [to check the weight] and it was 1kg [2.2 pounds] over. I said, ‘This is crazy. I’ve not drunk or eaten anything, I have to 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 it was over, and they never told us. And still, as the champion, I decided to cut the weight and there was 0.5 pounds left, which is the exact 0.5 pounds over in the scale. I had already made weight, so your head isn’t there anymore. I went to the sauna, I hit pads, I did everything because I’m the champion. The champion has to do everything to make weight, even though I had already made it [before]. I did everything. I sacrificed, but the scale didn’t even move. I weighed in the first time with underwear on and came in that weight, and I took that off and it was the same weight. There’s no explanation. But the champion has a name and his name is Charles Oliveira. I came here to once again show my story of overcoming and I’ll overcome once more time.”
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