Mike Dolce isn’t so sure about lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov really making weight for his UFC 254 title fight against Justin Gaethje.
Dolce, a long-time nutritionist who’s helped countless high-profile fighters with weight cuts, claims there was an error in the weigh-in process when Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) stepped on the scale Friday to make the 155-pound limit.
“Something very disturbing happened at the weigh-ins for UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje,” Dolce said in a video on his YouTube page. “What happened? When Khabib stepped on the scale, the inspector – either through sheer incompetence or (intentionally) – made a massive mistake that’s maybe worth tens of millions of dollars.
“Unfortunately, in my expert opinion, I do not believe that Khabib would have made the 155-pound weight class limit on this attempt. Now, Khabib was the first man on the scale and would’ve had time to cut that additional weight if he was physically able, but when you look at his language I will explain … why he wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
Dolce points to video of Nurmagomedov’s weigh-in to show the official operating the scale acted quickly before it balanced. Dolce says it wasn’t Nurmagomedov’s fault and puts the blame on the weigh-in official in charge.
“(The beam is going in an) upwards trajectory, and it has to balance,” Dolce said while looking at the process in which Nurmagomedov weighed in. “It’s going up. That means he’s heavy, and (the official) wipes it there as it’s still on its way up. It doesn’t bounce and doesn’t stabilize in the center. That’s not correct.”
Dolce then compared Nurmagomedov’s weigh-in process to Gaethje’s and points out that the official waited for the scale to comeback and stabilize prior to sliding the beam back down and resetting the scale.
Deron Winn, a UFC fighter and Nurmagomedov’s American Kickboxing Academy teammate, defended the outcome of the weigh-in.
“FYI the (UFC) makes you step on the scale in a back room before you go for the official weigh in,” Winn wrote. “You don’t get to step on the official scale unless you’re on weight and especially if you are the first one on the scale.”
Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) meets interim champ Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on Saturday in a title-unification bout that streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view.