MMA
UFC 274: Charles Oliveira stripped of lightweight title after missing weight
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Charles Oliveira made history on Friday, but it wasn't the kind he wanted to make.
Oliveira missed weight at the UFC 274 weigh-in and became the first fighter in UFC history to be stripped of his title and is no longer the UFC lightweight champion. The Brazilian had been scheduled to defend his title against Justin Gaethje in Saturday's UFC 274. The fight will continue, but only Gaethje is the only one eligible to win the championship as he weighed 155 pounds.
Oliveira tipped the scales at 155.5, .5 pounds over the 155-pound championship limit on his first attempt. Oliveira had one hour to shed the weight. Oliveira came back a second time and weighed the same.
"Charles Oliveira missed weight for his UFC 274 main event bout against Justin Gaethje on Friday afternoon in Phoenix, weighing in at 155.5 pounds," then UFC said in a statement.
"Due to the weight miss, Oliveira will forfeit a percentage of his purse. As of this moment, Charles Oliveira remains the UFC Lightweight Champion, but upon the start of the Main Event Headliner tomorrow night, he will vacate the 155-pound title. The fight will proceed as scheduled, but the championship will only be on the line for Gaethje. If Oliveira wins, he will be the number one contender for the vacant Lightweight Championship and will fight the next challenger for the undisputed title belt at a time and place to be determined."
It is the fifth time Oliveira has missed weight in his UFC career, but the first time since he moved to lightweight.
