There’s no other way to put this: Khamzat Chimaev’s official weigh-in for UFC 267 was a complete mess.
What the heck was that?
Chimaev, the last fighter to walk out Friday at the UFC host hotel in Abu Dhabi, stepped on the scale with just a few minutes left in the weigh-in window. There was genuine concern leading up to the moment given this was the first weight cut since his well documented battle with COVID-19 last year when he thought he would die.
On his first attempt, Chimaev stripped down naked and weighed in at 171.5 pounds for his welterweight bout with Li Jingliang, only a half pound over the limit, but something was off – his hands could be seen touching the towel. Nobody asked him to raise them, though, and so 171.5 it was. Chimaev was given an hour to cut the addition half pound.
About 45 minutes later, Chimaev returned and again stripped down. When he stepped on the scale this time, it was obvious he was trying to pull a fast one by leaning on the towel. His weight on the second try: 166! How could that possibly be?
Look at Khamzat Chimaev’s hands on his second UFC 267 weigh-in attempt.
UFC weigh-ins coordinator Heidi Dean couldn’t believe it. “One what? What is it?” she asked out loud. “Sixty-six? He lost five pounds?”
No, he didn’t. It was clear the dramatically smaller number had everything to do with Chimaev’s obvious towel shenanigans, but the official determination was “something wrong with the scale,” according to the scale operator. So, scale malfunction it was, and a third try was in order.
On that third attempt, the scale operator immediately signaled to Chimaev to raise his arms above the towel. Chimaev complied, and he managed to hit 171. Perhaps that means Chimaev’s attempts at cheating were unnecessary?
For what it’s worth, with the fight overseas in Abu Dhabi, the UFC is self-regulating UFC 267. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it’s at least worth noting in a situation like this.
What a mess. You can watch it unfold in the video above.
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