Charles Oliveira stripped of lightweight title after missing weight for UFC 274

Charles Oliveira was sensationally stripped of his undisputed UFC lightweight title after twice failing to hit championship weight ahead of his bout with Justin Gaethje at UFC 274.

The official weigh-in session in Phoenix, Arizona saw former interim champion Gaethje hit the lightweight championship limit of 155 pounds without fuss. But, despite earlier tweeting to suggest that he was on weight, Oliveira did not show in the early stages of the session.

Oliveira’s early no-show drew concerns that perhaps his weight cut had not gone as well as he was suggesting on social media and, as the clock ticked down, those concerns turned into genuine worry about the Brazilian’s ability to make weight for his title defence.

Oliveira eventually arrived right at the end of the two-hour window and, after initially tipping the scale at 156 pounds, registered an official weight of 155.5 after disrobing. Per commission rules, he was then granted a further hour to lose the remaining half pound but, after using almost all of that time to try to trim down to championship weight, Oliveira returned to the scale and once again registered a weight of 155.5 pounds.

⚖️ = 155.5lbs

Charles OIiveira has been unable to shift the final weight.#UFC274 | Saturday | BT Sport 1 HD pic.twitter.com/fIRlDIUIGC

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) May 6, 2022

It was then officially confirmed that Oliveira had been stripped of his title, though his bout with Gaethje will go ahead, as planned. As the fighter who made championship weight, Gaethje is still able to win the title, and will claim the vacant belt if he defeats Oliveira in Saturday night’s main event. However, if Oliveira goes on to claim victory, the championship will remain vacant.