Nothing fishy: Rafael Alves says salmon to blame for UFC Fight Night 185 weight miss

Rafael Alves has revealed the reason for his grotesque weight miss: salmon.

According to Alves, who missed weight by 11.5 pounds Friday morning during the UFC Fight Night 185 weigh-ins in Las Vegas, food poisoning is to blame for the scale botch.

“I ate salmon yesterday and fell ill, (had) vomit and diarrhea, so the doctor said I had to treat it with (drinking) water,” he told MMA Fighting via text message. “I only had (4.4 pounds) left to cut, (but) when I drank water my weight went up and got stuck, so the doctor didn’t clear me to fight. But God owns everything and He knows what He does.”

Alves, 30, was set to make his promotional debut Saturday at featherweight against Patrick Sabatini. The fight was pulled when he weighed 157.5 pounds, a weight that wouldn’t even qualify as lightweight, nevermind featherweight.

Despite what Alves claims was food poisoning, he will move up to lightweight for his next fight. According to Alves, UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby has informed him he will not be released by the promotion.

“Sean Shelby said that health is what matters now,” Alves said. “He told me this has happened to champions before, and told (me) to fight at 155 and come back stronger. They won’t cut me because they had to change opponents and they were searching for a new one, some said they would fight at 155 and others at 145, so I didn’t focus on the guy I was fighting nor my weight. But I’m going to fight at 155 now. I’m focused and nothing will stop me.”

As for the critics, Alves isn’t listening to them. He has faith in his abilities and thinks he will still have success in the future despite the bump in the road.

“I know a lot of people are criticizing me, but I don’t care,” Alves said. “Jesus was God’s son and he was criticized despite all his power, so imagine me, a flawed man on Earth? But thank God the UFC hasn’t said they will cut me, so I’ll be back soon. They said I’m a showman that will give the UFC a lot of profit.”

UFC Fight Night 185 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.