Anthony "Rumble" Johnson's move to the middleweight division has not gotten off to a good start, as the former welterweight standout failed to make weight for Saturday's UFC 142 co-main event bout against Vitor Belfort, an announcement made Friday afternoon by UFC President Dana White.
Johnson clocked in at 197 pounds, 11 pounds over the allowed 186-pound non-title limit for middleweight bouts.
The bout is still expected to go on as scheduled, with Belfort receiving 20% of Johnson's purse and Johnson not allowed to weigh more than 205 pounds at a second weigh-in on Saturday. (UPDATE - Johnson made weight on Saturday at 204.2 pounds - the fight is on)
"As a fighter, you are a professional," said White. "You are contracted to come in at a certain weight. This is not the first time this has happened with Johnson. He moved up to 185 pounds so this wouldn't happen, and here we are in the same position again."
Johnson failed to make weight on two occasions during his stint at welterweight, but apparently his struggles with the scale are not over.
"Vitor was bummed out and he feels the same way I do," said White. "Vitor Belfort has to cut this weight too and he's older than "Rumble" Johnson is. He came in, like a professional, on weight, and Anthony Johnson comes in totally unprofessional and way overweight."
"Rumble" Misses Weight, Belfort Fight Still On
Saturday, July 26
8PM/5PM
ETPT
San Jose, CA
Media
Recent
Popular
Josh Thomson sits down with Megan Olivi to talk about his matchup vs. Bobby Green and more in this One Round feature.
Jul 25, 2014
Welterweight rising star Matt Brown puts his six fight winning streak on the line going up against challenger Mike "Quicksand" Pyle, a fighter with 16 total wins by submission. Watch Brown take on Robbie Lawler at UFC Fight Night San Jose.
Jul 25, 2014
UFC correspondent Paula Sack catches up with Little Nog to discuss his upcoming bout at Fight Night San Jose. Little Nog talks about his opponent, training regimen, and what his fans can expect to see.
Jul 24, 2014
Megan Olivi catches up with Fight Night San Jose star Anthony Johnson, and his dog Kona, to discuss his upcoming fight with Little Nog and what he likes to do outside the Octagon.
Jul 24, 2014
UFC star Nick Diaz signed a contract extension on July 24 at Zuffa headquarters. He then sat down with UFC.com to talk about his future. Here is the trailer.
Jul 24, 2014
The UFC's Fight Motion Cam captures the biggest hits of UFC 175 in super slow-mo.
Jul 15, 2014
Newly-minted champion TJ Dillashaw makes his first title defense against former bantamweight king Renan Barao at UFC 177. Dillashaw is out to show his first performance was no fluke, while Barao wants to prove he's still the best in the division.
Jul 15, 2014
Before the UFC touches down July 26th in San Jose for a thrilling night of fights Road to the Octagon brings you inside the lives and training camps of the six elite fighters. At stake for welterweights Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown is a shot at UFC gold.
Jul 19, 2014
Comments