UFC cancels fight after weigh-in mishap

Aaron Tau’s flyweight bout against Namsrai Batbayar at UFC 325 in Australia on Saturday has been cancelled after a mishap at the weigh-ins.

New Zealand’s Tau, who stepped on the scales in Sydney behind a curtain which allows fighters to shed the weight of their clothes, first weighed 122.25lb (8st 10.25lb).

The result was met by confusion by commentators Chris Weidman and RJ Clifford on the live broadcast, who questioned how Tau could be 3.75lb under the flyweight limit when using the curtain – a trick typically reserved for tight weight cuts.

The curtain was then removed and Tau was made to step on the scales again by UFC officials, before weighing 129lb (9st 2lb) which was 3lb over the limit.

The UFC later announced that the fight had been removed from the card.

During the broadcast, UFC commentators compared the mishap to former light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier’s “towel trick” in 2017.

After weighing 1.2lb over the 205lb (14st 6lb) light-heavyweight limit for his title fight against Anthony Johnson, Cormier later clocked exactly 205lb but could be seen resting his hands on the towel which was being held by UFC officials to cover his body.

Cormier initially denying any wrongdoing, but later admitted that he “may have grabbed the towel” to relieve the excess weight.