Only one fighter missed weight at the UFC 325 official weigh-ins, and he was accused of cheating on top of that.
Aaron Tau was scheduled to face Namsrai Batbayar in the Road to UFC flyweight final, but the fight was canceled after Tau (11-1) missed the mark by four pounds. Tau was the last to hit the scale after a lengthy gap between the fighters before him in what was an otherwise speedy official weigh-in session with no other issues.
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The box was brought out, and Tau stepped on the scale, flexing with his elbows just above the edge of the box. The scale operator took an unusual amount of time to determine the weight and initially announced 122.5 pounds. However, a moment later, Tau was told to step on the scale without the box, and recorded 129 pounds as his official weight.
Upon a closer look, it appeared Tau was resting his elbows on the box for leverage to make him lighter, which explains why it took so long for the operator to determine the inconsistent reading.
“I would love to get an instant replay. Can we get a replay of him cheating?” Chris Weidman said during the UFC 325 “Morning Weigh-in Show.”
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The 32-year-old flyweight released a statement, apologizing for the issue.
“I need to apologise to my opponent,, the UFC, my team and my fans,” Tau wrote on a photo posted to Instagram. “Though I pushed to the end, I have one job, to make weight and fight. I didn’t do that. I’m sorry.”
Tau, who made a Dana White’s Contender Series appearance in 2024, losing to Eljiah Smith by unanimous decision, was once again one win away from entering the UFC, but after missing weight and apparently attempting to fool the scale, he won’t have that chance.
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UFC 325 will proceed with 13 total fights, including three other Road to UFC finals bouts.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 325: Road to UFC fighter accused of cheating scale apologizes