Former UFC bantamweight Champion Renan Barao was set to return to the division he once dominated to fight Aljamain Sterling at UFC 214.
However, those plans may be on hold because the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) won’t license Barao at bantamweight. This is because Barao has missed weight at bantamweight before, which goes against the new 10 point weight cutting rule set recently passed by the CSAC.
It was Sterling who actually made the announcement for via Instagram:
The fight will still go on as a catchweight fight at 140 pounds.
CSAC Executive Officer Andy Foster, in a statement to MMA Fighting, states that past weight cutting issues are what lead to the commissions ruling.
“The last time Mr. Barao was over here in California, he didn’t make it to the fight,” Foster said. “I think out of an abundance of safety, we’ve focused on weight cutting, focused on addressing severe dehydration to make weight. And the last time Mr. Barao was here he didn’t make it to the fight. I talked to my doctors and we feel like this is the appropriate and safe thing to do.”
UFC 214 takes place on Saturday, July 29 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
