Khamzat Chimaev has undergone a remarkable near-40lb body transformation, weighing in for his middleweight title clash against Dricus du Plessis on Saturday night. The Russian contender is set to challenge the defending champion at UFC 319 in Chicago, successfully hitting 183lb on Friday after being required to strip naked, a staggering 37lb drop from the start of his training camp for the biggest fight of his career. While his nutritionist pointed the finger at the athletic commission over the strip weigh-in, Chimaev himself has remained silent on the matter. His opponent, however, chose to address it.

After Chimaev, reigning middleweight champion du Plessis stepped on the scales, hitting the 185lb limit ahead of his third title defense since winning the belt from Sean Strickland last year. Despite making weight, the South African seemed dissatisfied, believing something might be wrong with the official weigh-in scale. Why, you ask?

Khamzat Chimaev’s opponent joins fight week backlash

A few hours after the official weigh-ins wrapped up, MMA Uncensored shared a clip on X with the caption, “DDP was frustrated with scales ⚖️ #UFC319.” In the video, the 23-2 champion can be heard saying, “And I was a half a pound over on this scale. Man, I was so frustrated. Yeah, I’m always here early making sure, and then the scales just didn’t match up. But I mean, it was easy – 20 minutes, made the weight, then came down- but it is very, very frustrating. I was really pissed off at that.”

Fortunately for Dricus du Plessis, he still made weight and didn’t have to sacrifice his bout, unlike Bryan Battle. In case you missed it, Battle was scheduled for a middleweight clash against Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC 319, but the fight collapsed at the weigh-ins. Why? ‘The Butcher’ came in at 190 lbs, exceeding the 186 lb non-title middleweight limit by a wide margin. That made him the only fighter on the card to officially miss weight. But the weigh-in drama didn’t stop there.

Tim Elliott, set to face Kai Asakura in a flyweight matchup, also missed his target, weighing in at 126.0 lbs instead of the 125 lbs limit. Much like du Plessis, the 20-13 veteran was furious. Taking to X just hours ago, he wrote, “I hate the way they do the weigh-ins. It’s on scales no one can read, then they bring out the curtain. Just put us on digital scales for the world to see. Then there’s no question, I’m guessing he wasn’t on weight!” According to reports, similar confusion with the scales occurred during Khamzat Chimaev’s weigh-in as well.

Khamzat Chimaev’s camp slams Athletic Commission after weigh-in controversy

There have been numerous reports from analysts suggesting that Khamzat Chimaev could derail UFC 319’s main event, with some even calling the situation a potential “disaster.” Aware of the whispers, Borz and his team took every possible measure to silence the doubters. Yet, when it came time for the weigh-in, Chimaev was required to step inside a black box.

After a couple of checks, Khamzat Chimaev’s weight was confirmed to be just under the championship limit. Officially coming in at 183 lbs, his nutritionist urged fans not to worry about the fight being canceled. “Before any speculation starts about Khamzat’s weight, we weighed in on two UFC scales before stepping on the Athletic Commission’s one,” Matteo Capodaglio wrote on Instagram. Further pointing fingers at the commission, “Our weight was 184.8 lb. I’m not sure if it was an operator issue, but I can assure you, Khamzat’s weight was right below the championship limit of 185 lb,” he added. “We don’t really like to cut more than needed, I promise!”

That’s one promise from Chimaev’s team, but the fighter himself has made another. The Chechen star has vowed not only to dethrone Dricus du Plessis but also to take the middleweight title away from his opponent’s homeland. That said, do you think Khamzat Chimaev will be able to fulfill his wish? And what do you make of the weight-related controversy?