{"id":448440,"date":"2026-01-31T00:22:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T00:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448440\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T00:22:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T00:22:19","slug":"aaron-tau-caught-out-trying-to-cheat-weigh-in-for-fight-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448440\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Tau caught out trying to cheat weigh-in for fight, video"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was early drama at the UFC 325 weigh-ins, with Aaron Tau\u2019s flyweight bout against Namsrai Batbayar cancelled after a gamble from the Kiwi backfired.<\/p>\n

UFC 325: Volkanovski vs Lopes 2 | SUN 1 FEB 1PM AEDT | For the first time in his storied career, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will defend his championship in his home city of Sydney, in a rematch with Brazil\u2019s Diego Lopes. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. <\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tau was scheduled to fight in the Road to UFC flyweight final against Namsrai Batbayar, with the bout to open Sydney\u2019s event.
Had Tau won the fight, he would have earned a UFC contract.<\/p>\n

Instead, the fight was cancelled after Tau weighed in at 1.3 kilograms above the division limit. <\/p>\n

There was some initial confusion, however, as Tau initially weighed in behind the curtain, which is typically used when fighters are struggling to make weight given it allows them to strip down as they stand on the scale. <\/p>\n

Instead, Tau\u2019s reading came back at 55.5 kilograms \u2014 more than one kilogram under the 57.1 kilogram limit for the flyweight division. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really unfortunate because he had two great showings… and he made weight in a relatively close span of time, so I\u2019m really curious as to why he didn\u2019t make weight for this fight,\u201d Michael Chiesa said on the UFC Morning Weigh-in show broadcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cEssentially, the biggest fight of his life, his last shot to get to the UFC and let\u2019s remember, he wasn\u2019t Dana White\u2019s favourite fighter. He had this great fight with Elijah Smith but Dana didn\u2019t like the antics so he really needed to make the weight and go out and put on a big show to punch his ticket to the UFC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really curious what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was later suggested that Tau had done the \u201cDC\u201d, referring to the time Daniel Cormier admitted he \u201cmay have grabbed the towel\u201d to drop his weight measurement after he came in over the limit for his title fight against Anthony Johnson in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee, DC ruined it for everybody. You can\u2019t cheat anymore,\u201d Chris Weidman said in commentary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a walk of shame… this is going to be embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Check out the weigh in’s for UFC 325! | 15:55<\/p>\n

While Tau\u2019s fight is off, Alexander Volkanovski has left no doubt about his intentions in Sunday\u2019s UFC 325 blockbuster, revving up a raucous Sydney crowd at Friday night\u2019s ceremonial weigh-ins with \u201cthe belt is staying here\u201d.<\/p>\n

After an incredibly cordial fight week build, Australia\u2019s UFC featherweight champ undoubtedly lifted the intensity for what was his final face off against Brazilian Diego Lopes.<\/p>\n

Interviewed afterwards by UFC host Jon Anik, who was decked out in a Vegemite hoodie, Lopes stressed the impending rematch was set to be significantly different to the first fight, while Volk declared: \u201cYouse are in for a treat, let\u2019s goooo\u201d.<\/p>\n

Cue pandemonium.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere inside Qudos Bank Arena, undercard fighters Oban Elliott and Jono Micallef had to be separated by matchmaker Mick Maynard, who was filling in due to the absence of UFC boss Dana White.<\/p>\n

As revealed by Fox Sports Australia this week, Australia\u2019s Micallef and \u2018The Welsh Gangster\u2019 were involved a testy fight week confrontation at the UFC fighter hotel, with two wildly varying accounts of what went down.<\/p>\n

Volk looking for “calculated bombs” | 04:32<\/p>\n

And after stepping off the scales Friday night, Micallef showed no signs of wanting to end said beef \u2013 initially feinting a lunge forward at Elliott, who responded in kind as Maynard rushed in to separate them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re f***ing dead,\u201d Elliott then shouted, making a throat slitting gesture as he spoke.<\/p>\n

Soon after, New Zealand fan favourite Dan Hooker took his daughter on stage for the ceremonials, while Mauricio Ruffy, during his own staredown, stood for several moments while fellow UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev shouted in his face.<\/p>\n

Then, as the pair separated, the still silent Ruffy held out a hand to the crowd and moved it back and forth \u2013 mimicking what he suggested was a shaking rival.<\/p>\n

Sydney fans also gave a huge pop to returning heavyweight Tai Tuivasa, who could potentially blow the roof off Qudos on Sunday with a win. <\/p>\n

MORE UFC 325 NEWS<\/p>\n

\u2018WHO IS THIS GUY?\u2019: Cult hero\u2019s wild 30kg drop and why he\u2019s eyeing chaos in \u2018s***\u2019 division<\/a><\/p>\n

ULTIMATE GUIDE TO UFC 325: Full fight card and how to watch in Australia<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018ISN\u2019T WHAT IT USED TO BE\u2019: Pros turn on Aussie with shock UFC prediction<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018NOT WHAT I\u2019D BE WANTING\u2019: Volk warned of \u2018unnecessary risk\u2019 in huge career first<\/a><\/p>\n

Volk: “I cannot wait to put on a show!” | 02:45<\/p>\n

Interviewed after facing off, Lopes was asked by Anik he the rematch would be different to their first fight last year, which Volk won by decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, the difference is that now I have more experience,\u201d the challenger said. \u201cI have more confidence in myself. too.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople know me. Know my style of fighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople know Volkanovski too. We\u2019ll put on a great show Sunday.\u201d <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Australia\u2019s Robert Whittaker has given his take on how countryman Alexander Volkanovski gets beat in this Sunday\u2019s UFC 325 blockbuster in Sydney \u2013 and after disagreeing with another man who held the UFC middleweight crown, Chris Weidman, on a special weigh-in broadcast show.<\/p>\n

Looking to begin his second reign as UFC featherweight king, Volkanovski was the second fighter to hit the scales at Friday afternoon\u2019s official weigh-ins at the UFC fighter hotel, recording 65.54kg.<\/p>\n

Fighters square up at the weigh in! | 00:21<\/p>\n

Brazilian challenger Diego Lopes, meanwhile, was first on the scales, and also made weight at 65.77kg.<\/p>\n

Yet Bobby Knuckles?<\/p>\n

He was Stateside for a special UFC 325 panel program that also included Weidman and UFC fighting analyst Michael Cheisa.<\/p>\n

Whittaker and Weidman even opened the show by disagreeing over how Sunday\u2019s main event will play out between two men who threw down as recently as last April.<\/p>\n

Fighting for the vacant UFC featherweight strap at UFC 314, Volkanovski won via comprehensive decision.<\/p>\n

And while the now 37-year-old hasn\u2019t fought since reclaiming gold, Lopes went and stopped Jean Silva in September \u2013 and via a brutal spinning back elbow \u2013 which has Weidman convinced the rematch will look completely different. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is awesome man,\u201d the American said at the top of the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast time Lopes fought Volkanovski, he had never been a main event, had never been in a title fight, there was a lot of new stuff going on in his life and you saw it wasn\u2019t the best Lopes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo now, we\u2019re expecting him to come in with the experience of knowing what it\u2019s like to be in there with Volkanovski and see a whole different type of flight\u201d.<\/p>\n

To which Whittaker replied: \u201cI have to disagree with you there Chris.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see what Lopes can do differently to beat Alex.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlex wrote the blueprint on how to beat [Lopes] in that first fight, and I didn\u2019t see enough changes in his last fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get all the latest UFC and boxing news, previews and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with our Fox Sports Combat Sportmail. Sign up now!!! <\/a><\/p>\n

Weidman, disagreed, and reminded how Lopes not only dropped Volkanovski in the second round of their first fight, but landed extremely heavy on him again in the fourth<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he did have a nice knockout over Jean Silva,\u201d Weidman countered. \u201cLooked super dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you look at that first fight, in the striking exchanges, when things got chaotic, that\u2019s when we saw Lopes have success.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, look, we\u2019re talking about Volkanovski here. So I\u2019m not saying I\u2019m putting all my money on Lopes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m saying this should be a more interesting fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the last fight was super interesting. We didn\u2019t know how it would go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after, Whittaker was asked how he would coach Lopes to fight in the rematch.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re really making me to coach against Alex Volkanovski?\u201d Bobby Knuckles laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m dirty. Dirty.<\/p>\n

Tuivasa eyes a hot new winning streak | 01:10<\/p>\n

\u201cBut honestly, I saw it in the fighter meeting notes, [Lopes] said he\u2019s going to push forward, be a little bit more reckless. Take the fight to Alex.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that is his best bet.<\/p>\n

\u201cTry and get his hands on Alex.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause Alex had perfect lateral movement in the first fight, his feinting game was on point, every time they would clash he would come out the victor.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo Lopes needs to make it ugly. He needs to make a dogfight to make Alex uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, Whittaker also pointed to his own unforgettable wars with Cuban monster Yoel Romero \u2013 both of which he won \u2013 when explaining how Lopes could potentially earn himself a win this time around.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rematched Romero, fought him twice, and sometimes it could be a disadvantage [for the champion],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Alex wrote the blueprint on how to beat Lopes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe couldn\u2019t have fought a better fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were moments [for Lopes], but it\u2019s a fight.<\/p>\n

Volk all class after Lopes staredown | 00:48<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what happens when the opponent does something completely different? That second Romero fight, everything I had prepared for, everything I could see, everything I\u2019d watched on tape, he did the complete opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it was a nightmare of a fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone saw it, it was a nightmare of a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, fellow panellist Michael Chiesa said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to get too deep in the weeds, but the numbers didn\u2019t tell the story in that first fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do feel like, while Volkanovski won 49-46 on the majority of judges\u2019 scorecards, Lopes had some really big moments in that fight. And it was a really dangerous fight for Volkanovski.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd do feel like the improvement has been made in his wrestling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy has been at Oklahoma State, one of the best college wrestling programs in the nation, and that is a great way to blend your jiujitsu and your boxing together, use the wrestling.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019ll see if the improvements have been made in that department. See if it pays dividends in this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was early drama at the UFC 325 weigh-ins, with Aaron Tau\u2019s flyweight bout against Namsrai Batbayar cancelled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2095,64,63,689,1920,232081,45188,232078,232080,44864,25853,178129,214968,232077,6764,232073,232082,92777,136013,24575,44862,232076,102365,112905,673,2782,2041,2067,677,232074,3371,232079,668,17831,232075,85,670,21760,2614,3585],"class_list":["post-448440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-america","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-boxing-news","tag-brazilian-challenger","tag-chris-weidman","tag-college-wrestling","tag-cuban-monster","tag-diego-lopes","tag-fan-favourite","tag-featherweight-champion","tag-featherweight-king","tag-featherweight-strap","tag-fight-card","tag-fighter-hotel","tag-fighter-meeting-notes","tag-heavyweight-division","tag-home-city","tag-home-crowd","tag-jean-silva","tag-michael-cheisa","tag-michael-chiesa","tag-middleweight-crown","tag-new-south-wales","tag-nick-walshaw","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-oceania","tag-official-weigh-ins","tag-oklahoma","tag-panel-program","tag-press-conference","tag-robert-whittaker","tag-special-weigh-in","tag-sports","tag-sydney","tag-title-fight","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-winning-streak"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}