Ultimate Guide: What Happens When A UFC Fighter Misses Weight?

The UFC fighter can miss the weight, which means that they can weigh more than the specified weight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). When a fighter appears on the UFC podium, they need to meet the specific criteria, which are also based on the fighter's weight.

For this purpose, the UFC has decided the criteria for the weight division. There are nine categories of weight class, each with a different division for male and female fighters. UFC fighters are required to participate in the tournament if they have the desired weight as per the UFC weight division.

In this article, we will explore what happens if the UFC fighter misses weight and its possible solutions. 

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was initiated in 1993. The events were organized without restriction to weight divisions. Any fighter from the open weight class can participate in the UFC.

Only after the event of UFC 12, were there very minimal rules and regulations. Fighters from any martial arts could compete in the UFC, and there were no weight divisions.

In the first tournament of UFC 1, Royce Gracie was the winner. He is a well-renowned fighter and known as a much lighter fighter. Gracie has shown his competency in jiu-jitsu and won fights against heavier fighters.

Following are the UFC events that were fought in the open weight division:

After 1996, UFC initiated bouts according to weight divisions. The Middleweight division was introduced, and later, the welterweight and light heavyweight classes also became part of UFC. In 2001, UFC revised its policies and introduced the lightweight division.

The men's and women’s weight classes were differentiated, and the fighters were given maximum opportunities to reach the podium. The new weight division differentiates the category of women in which they can compete in the four weight classes.

• Strawweight

• Flyweight

• Bantamweight

• Featherweight

The UFC events are organized according to the contract between the two fighters, and the fighters have to remain within the same weight limit. The weight of each fighter is measured before the fight, and there is a difference between the weight classes of title events and non-title events. 

If a UFC contender misses a weight or exceeds the limit, the fighter is moved to the next category of the UFC event. The next option for the fighter is to fight in the catchweight event.

If the fighter's weight exceeds 0.5 pounds in a non-title fight, he can compete. But if the fighter exceeds 1 pound, he breaks the contract or might fight in the catchweight event for exceeding the weight limit. On the other hand, that particular fighter is not compatible with appearing in the UFC championships.

Take another example: If a fighter competes in the middleweight division and his weight is more than 185 pounds, he will take assurance from the fighter who is fighting in the middleweight division that he will fight in the light heavyweight division.

If the UFC fighter misses a weight, they cannot win the UFC title or the belt. This happened with Charles Olivera, who missed a weight in UFC 274. The fighters who miss a weight have to forfeit up to 20 percent. If the fighter does not consider the given option, they will face the consequences of being pulled off the card.

The title events of UFC do not allow fighters to weigh more than the required limit; this policy is necessary for both fighters to appear in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

It is the necessary process used by the UFC fighters before the fight. In this process, the fighter must dehydrate themselves for almost five days. For that purpose, they go through the following schedule:

• Find out how much weight they need to cut off.

• They lose the weight through sweating.

• Take the food that does not have the salt.

• Before the process, they take a lot of water to remove the excess salt from the body.

The fighter must lose ten to twenty pounds before appearing on the podium. As fighters are habitual in losing weight in an unhealthy way, it is a common fact that UFC fighters miss weight.

The concept of weigh-in shows that the fighter has an accurate weight equal to the required figure. The UFC fighters manage the weight in the prefight.

The UFC has shown the weight divisions subdivided into the 12 main categories. Some of the categories are designed for women, and others are for men. Let us find out the weight divisions of UFC.

Four categories are differentiated for the female fighters and the rest of them are for the male UFC fighters. 

If the UFC fighter misses a weight, they will be given two attempts to appear in the UFC event. For instance, if the fighter exceeds the weight, they will be given extra hours to maintain the weight as per the weight division. They can also avail themselves of an extra hour to lose or gain pounds.

Yeol Romero , the fighter who wanted to appear in the UFC 225, was found to be missing weight. He was given an extra two hours to maintain the weight. If Romero was unable to do so, he would have to face the consequences of not appearing in the title events. In this way, he would become the first person to miss weight for the title event of the UFC.

Another fighter, Charles Oliveira, missed his weight. He was against Justin Gaethje. Oliveira was given the chance to avail himself of an extra hour to lose .5 weight in order to appear in the UFC championship. 

Men and women are physically different in size and weight. UFC has categorized women into four weight divisions. That is as follows:

• Strawweight

• Flyweight

• Bantamweight

• Featherweight

UFC has introduced 12 weight divisions for the male and female fighters. Dana White will not add up any other weight classes till 2026. 

The UFC fighters have dignified qualities that show the capabilities of the various martial arts on the podium. At the start, UFC fighters competed in the open weight divisions, but after UFC 12, they classified the weight divisions. This provides an advantage for the contenders to compete with fighters having the same potential. In addition, the spectators can easily identify the fighters according to their weight divisions . 

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has created opportunities for fighters to compete in weight divisions accordingly. In the past years, the UFC has designed twelve weight divisions for male and female fighters.

As per the rules and regulations of the UFC, the fighter needs to maintain the weight class. If they lack it, the fighter will be given the chance to cut down the weight in an additional one or two hours.

The UFC weight divisions have remained steady for the past few years. However, according to fighter needs, they might add new weight divisions. 

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