Ray Borg’s future at 125 pounds is out of his hands.
The former flyweight title challenger returns to 135 pounds Wednesday to take on Ricky Simon UFC on ESPN+ 29 in Jacksonville, Fla. The move up to bantamweight wasn’t a choice made by Borg. He said the promotion forced him to move up a weight class.
“I think given that I missed weight at 125 again, it was the UFC’s decision,” Borg told MMA Junkie. “But not just that. Considering that all these fighters are having to cut weight in two weeks, I think that also had a big part of it. But mostly because my last weight cut to 125 was unsuccessful.”
Borg has missed weight three times for his nine UFC bouts at flyweight. Despite having done the majority of his body of work at 125 pounds, Borg is uncertain if he’ll ever return to the division in which he challenged for gold.
“Honestly, that’s not my decision anymore,” Borg said. “That’s kind of the decision of the head honchos.
“I still think I can make 125 (pounds). This last one, I was super confident going into it, but I made some technical errors. I got on the phone with the (UFC Performance Institute) on why (I missed weight). Because it wasn’t the will to not make weight or that I just came in super heavy and didn’t want to make the weight. There were some errors done on my end. Ultimately it was my fault.
“I made those errors on how I proceeded to go with the weight cut and the choices on how I was going to do the weight cut. We took the extra hour, we tried to cut more, we even asked for more time and we were confident we could make it with a little more time. As a professional, I was expected to come on weight the first time, so it’s not for me to say but it’s something I definitely want to give it another try in the future.”
Borg said he just feels better at flyweight despite his misses in the weight class.
“Obviously, the cut to 135 is easier, (but) I guess I just like the way my body performs at 125,” Borg said. “I’m lighter, I’m faster and I’m strong at that weight class. I guess it’s just a preference that I started fighting there since Day One and I’m comfortable there.”
Ray Borg uncertain on flyweight return: 'That's not my decision anymore'
