UFC Vegas 19 Fighter Sets UFC Record for Biggest Weight-Miss

Sometimes, more is not better. That’s the case when it comes to missing weight, and apparently brand new UFC fighter Rafael Alves didn’t get the memo. On Friday’s UFC Vegas 19 weigh-ins, Alves missed weight by a whopping 11.5 pounds.

Alves weighed in at 157.5 pounds for a featherweight bout against Pat Sabatini. The contracted weight was 146 pounds.

The weight miss earned Alves the dubious honor of the largest miss in UFC history. That record was previously held by Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, who missed the middleweight mark for his fight with Vitor Belfort by 11 pounds.

The previous UFC record for missing weight was held by Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, who weighed in 11 pounds overweight for a fight against Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 on Jan. 14, 2012.

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— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 19, 2021

Alves’ fight at UFC Vegas 19 was unsurprisingly scrapped. A professional since 2007, Alves was set to make his UFC debut following a successful showing on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2020.

Something must have been in the water in Las Vegas, as three other fighters missed weight on Friday. In addition to Alves, Ketlen Viera missed the bantamweight mark by two pounds (and fined 20% of her purse), Jared Gordon missed the featherweight limit by four pounds (and fined 30% of his purse), and Drako Rodriguez missed the featherweight mark by 4.5 pounds (and fined 30% of his purse).

UFC Vegas 19 takes place on Saturday, February 20 and will air live on ESPN+.