Knight Misses Weight By 12 Pounds

Probably not the best way to start the weekend.

The UFC 271 early weigh ins took place on Friday morning from the host hotel in Houston, Texas, and it was not without its share of drama. William Knight missed weight by 12 pounds for his short-notice fight against Maxim Grishin, forcing the commission to bump their 205-pound showdown to the heavyweight division.

Knight was fined a whopping 40-percent of his purse.

Elsewhere on the card, the flyweight bout between Alex Perez and Matt Schnell was canceled after Perez missed weight by two pounds. Schnell was presented with financial incentives to keep the contest afloat but ultimately declined the booking, which is contractually his right.

This marks the fourth time that Perez vs. Schnell has failed to materialize.

The rest of the card came together without much drama. UFC 271 headliners Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker both came in under the championship limit at 184, while co-headliners Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa weighed in at 266 and 265, respectively, for their heavyweight banger in “The Lone Star State.”

UFC 271 will be held tomorrow night (Sat., Feb. 12, 2022) inside Houston’s Toyota Center.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 271 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

For more news and notes on UFC 271 be sure to visit our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated, revised, and finalized “Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2” fight card and ESPN+lineup click here.