Kevin Borjas is all set to roll inside the Meta Apex this weekend at UFC Vegas 119, but he enters the cage with a bigger target on his back from both the brass and the fans. The flyweight botched his weigh-in on Friday morning, weighing in at 129 pounds, three pounds over the prescribed non-title weight limit, for his preliminary bout against undefeated André Lima.

As a result, ‘El Gallo Negro’ received an immediate fine, forfeiting 20% of his fight purse to Lima to keep the showdown alive at a catchweight.

The weight miss was the only blemish on an otherwise historic morning in Las Vegas. The UFC Vegas 119 scales actually set an all-time promotional record for the quickest weigh-in window in history, with all 24 fighters on the card stepping on and off the scales in just 15 minutes. That surpassed the previous record of 23 minutes, set at UFC London back in 2017.

The Peruvian was the only one who missed weight in the entire 24-person card. While Borjas surely struggled, the fights at the top of the card are now officially confirmed to take place tomorrow at UFC Vegas 119, as No. 2-ranked flyweight contender Manel Kape made weight for his main event fight against No. 5-ranked Kyoji Horiguchi. This five-round bout is a rematch of a 2017 RIZIN Fighting Federation contest.

That night, Horiguchi won by third-round submission by head and arm choke. So now, Kape has the chance to exact revenge while also sealing his spot as the next flyweight challenger for the title.

Even co-main event fighters Navajo Stirling and Ion Cutelaba made weight for their light heavyweight showdown, making sure that UFC Vegas 119 becomes an exciting follow-up to UFC Freedom 250 last weekend.

But unfortunately for Borjas, his smooth-operating peers made his massive slip-up look even worse. The former Inka FC titleholder enters the weekend with a grim 1-4 record overall inside the Octagon. In his last five fights in the Dana White-led promotion, ‘El Gallo Negro’ has lost to Joshua Van, Alessandro Costa, Sumudaerji, and Imanol Rodriguez.

His only win came against Ronaldo Rodriguez back in 2025. So, it is no surprise that fight fans are widely speculating that this weight miss will be the final straw for his roster spot.

Fans call for Kevin Borjas’ immediate release following the weight miss for UFC Vegas 119

The reaction on social media was fast and brutal, with the vast majority of the MMA world claiming Borjas had effectively punched his own ticket out of the promotion.

“1-4 in the UFC, just guaranteed himself to get cut,” one fan wrote flatly on X. Another echoed the sentiment, pointing out that missing weight when you’re already on thin ice is a terrible look: “Honestly smart, he was gonna get cut regardless of the weight miss. May as well have a free advantage.”

More chimed in with similar tweets such as, “Getting cut regardless tomorrow anyway,” “Maybe it’s time to get released,” and “Cut this bum! What the f— is this?”

Some took aim at the general professionalism of fighters who struggle with the scales. A fan wrote, “They cry about fighter pay and can’t even make weight. Make weight, then fight a human being with rules on TV—that’s literally all that’s asked of fighters besides the media scrum.”

While the anger is understandable, this is the first time Borjas has missed weight in his UFC career. In fact, ironically, he was on the exact opposite side of a weight-miss situation last year. The Peruvian had made the flyweight limit, while his opponent, Ronaldo Rodriguez, missed weight at 127 lbs. Despite this, Borjas went on to win the fight via unanimous decision and took home a portion of Rodriguez’s purse as well.

As such, a small minority tried to defend him—with one user claiming, “I think we should let him slide.. ngl he’s had a tough line of fights in the UFC so far”—the majority of fans weren’t that forgiving. And to be fair, you can’t blame them either.

Historically, missing weight by a significant margin can sometimes result in an unfair advantage in the cage. Back at UFC 224, Mackenzie Dern missed weight by seven pounds for her strawweight fight against Amanda Bobby Cooper.

As a result, Dern forfeited 30% of her pay and was dubbed a “disgrace” by Cooper, but she went out and secured a first-round rear-naked choke anyway. The 33-year-old eventually proved her worth, racking up an 11-5 UFC record and grabbing the strawweight gold.

However, as fans have swiftly pointed out, Borjas lacks the luxury of a championship pedigree to fall back on. Coming off consecutive losses in the division and with a bottom-tier promotional record, losing 20% of his pay on Friday may be the prelude to ‘El Gallo Negro’ receiving his pink slip on Sunday morning.