During the official UFC 324 weigh-in on Friday, two fighters were overweight and one fell to the ground in a horrific scene.
Former two-time UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo was the most notable offender on Friday, with the Brazilian moving up to 138.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds above his bantamweight non-title limit for his undercard fight with Umar Nurmagomedov (136). Figueiredo’s former opponent and long-time flyweight contender Alex Perez (128.5) did something similar, weighing 2.5 pounds over the flyweight non-title limit in his undercard fight against Charles Johnson (126).
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As a result, both Figueiredo and Perez were fined 25% and their games will go on as scheduled.
The most shocking sight of the morning, however, came from rising bantamweight star Cameron Smotherman, who collapsed shortly after weighing in at 135.5 pounds for his preliminary fight against Ricky Turcios.
Smotherman’s fight was immediately called off and the 28-year-old American was rushed to hospital.
There was far less drama on the main card, with lightweight toppers Justin Gaethje (155) and Paddy Pimblett (154) both successfully making weight for interim championship bouts.
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Gaethje vs. Pimblett is the main event of the UFC’s highly anticipated debut at Paramount, kicking off a seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast deal and marking a new era for the MMA leader.
UFC 324 takes place on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The full UFC 324 weigh-ins can be seen below.
Main card (9 p.m. ET, Paramount+)
Interim Lightweight Championship: Justin Gaethje (155) vs. Paddy Pimblett (154)
Bantamweight: Sean O’Malley (135.5) vs Song Yadong (136)
Heavyweight: Waldo Cortez-Acosta (262) VS Derrick Lewis (263.5)
Women’s Flyweight: Natalia Silva (126) vs. Rose Namajunas (125.5)
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Featherweight: Arnold Allen (145.5) vs Gene Silva (146)
Preliminary card (7 p.m. ET, Paramount+)
Bantamweight: Umar Nurmagomedov (136) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (138.5)*
Middleweight: Atba Gautier (186) VS Andrei Pulyayev (186)
Light Heavyweight: Nikita Krylov (205.5) VS Modestas Bukauskas (204)
Early Preliminaries (5 p.m. ET, Paramount+)
Flyweight: Alex Perez (128.5)* vs. Charles Johnson (126)
Lightweight: Michael Johnson (156) vs. Alexander Hernandez (155.5)
Heavyweight: Josh Hockett (234.5) vs. Denzel Freeman (257.5)
Bantamweight: Ricky Turcios (136) vs. Cameron Smotherman (135.5)** | Smotherman collapses in horrific scene
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Welterweight: Adam Fugit (171) vs Ty Miller (170)
*Figueiredo and Perez were 2.5 pounds overweight and both fighters were fined 25%
**Smotherman canceled fight with Tutsios after hospitalization