Brazil commission issues correction: Tracy Cortez, Vanessa Melo make weight for UFC on ESPN+ 22

It looks like Tracy Cortez and Vanessa Melo were under the bantamweight limit after all.

Friday morning, Cortez (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Melo (10-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) weighed in heavy at 136.5 pounds for their bantamweight bout at UFC on ESPN+ 22.

But hours after the weight miss, the Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) issued a correction. The scale was not correctly calibrated, according to a CABMMA release. For that reason, Cortez and Melo’s official weights have been changed to 136 pounds – the bantamweight limit.

At the official weigh-ins, UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard told reporters neither fighter would be penalized for the weight miss since they were fighting each other and came in equally over the limit. But now that’s moot.

In a statement acquired by MMA Junkie, CABMMA executive director Cristiano Sampaio said:

“CABMMA reviewed the incident between the athletes Vanessa Melo and Tracy Cortez. Both were checked by the commission with 20 minutes left to the ending time of the official weigh-ins. Scale used by the commission was 0.7lbs above the official scale, which indicated that the athletes could not lose any more weight in the remaining time. Athletes were then withdrawn from the cutting process.

“CABMMA physicians evaluated the athletes and considered both in well conditions but were not given the extra hour, which per guideline is only for main event and title bouts.

“Considering the fact that (i) fighters were checked in a scale which was not calibrated as the official one; (ii) commission was misguided by the wrong weight and conducted their guideline on an incorrect data; and (iii) since the difference between the scales was off by 0.7lbs and both athletes made the exact weight on the official scale, CABMMA will consider their official weight as 136lbs.

“In that sense, the athletes will not suffer any fine (or) penalty, and have their records maintained. To CABMMA’s understanding, weight classes are designed for safety and fairness, not a strict rule that prevents these goals.”

Isabella de Padua (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) also came in heavy for her fight against Ariane Lipski (11-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC), which she accepted on just hours’ notice. But her weight miss was roughly four pounds heavy, even with the scale correction.

UFC on ESPN+ 22 takes place Saturday at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. The card streams on ESPN+.