In MMA, skill and toughness alone don’t crown champions—fighters win or lose on the scales. Not only does weight determine a division, but it also steers betting lines, anchors contracts, and drives the financial engine of every event. Yet despite its importance, fighters still turn the weigh-in into one of the sport’s most delicate battlegrounds. For instance, consider January’s Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311. Missing weight left the title fight dangling in midair and threw Dana White & Co. into a scramble.

Since then, fighters have repeatedly missed weight throughout the year, with each slip threatening to unravel months of meticulously built hype. Last month, in September, UFC 205er Kelvin Gastelum missed weight at UFC Noche, prompting fans to call for action. Now, as October arrives, the storm gathers again at UFC 320, where Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev—one of the year’s marquee showdowns—once again casts a long shadow of familiar weight-cutting drama.

UFC 320 weight misses trigger Dana White’s tough response

The early preliminary and preliminary cards at UFC 320 faced Dana White’s wrath first. On the preliminary featherweight card, Daniel Santos and Yoo Joo-sang—normally 145-pound fighters—will meet in a 153-pound catchweight bout after both missed weight by more than five pounds. At the UFC 320 weigh-ins, Santos weighed in at 151 pounds, while Yoo came in at 152.5, according to MMA Junkie reporter Nolan King. As a result, the fighters’ weight issues added tension to an already charged fight week.

Meanwhile, the drama continued on the early preliminary women’s bantamweight card, where Macy Chiasson faced Yana Santos. As MMA Junkie reported, “Macy Chiasson misses weight for a second time in her UFC career ahead of #UFC320. She will be fined 25 percent of purse and fight vs. Yana Santos is ON.”

Still, Dana White and the UFC don’t act without reason. The promotion allows some leeway: title-bout fighters can weigh no more than 0.5 pounds over the limit, while non-title bouts permit a one-pound buffer. However, miss the mark beyond that, and the consequences hit quickly. Chiasson (11-4), a 34-year-old from Louisiana, earned her UFC spot by winning the 28th edition of The Ultimate Fighter in 2018, capturing the women’s featherweight crown.

In the UFC, she prefers competing in the bantamweight division. Her career has experienced highs, lows, and injuries, which together have shaped her journey. Currently, the Louisiana standout sits at 2-2 in her last four fights, struggling to maintain momentum. Looking back, at UFC Vegas 107 in May, Chiasson stumbled again. Her bout, originally scheduled as a bantamweight fight, shifted to featherweight on weigh-in day due to “weight management issues” from Vieira, who forfeited 25% of her purse.

Despite the change, Ketlen Vieira dominated the fight, and Chiasson lost by unanimous decision, leaving another setback in her UFC story.

Alex Pereira and other UFC stars urged to stay on weight or face consequences

Weight cutting remains one of combat sports’ most grueling and controversial practices. Fighters often carry a frame well above their division, then shed pounds through extreme dehydration and strict dieting just to make weight. UFC commentator Joe Rogan has long criticized the practice; at one point, he officially dubbed it “sanctioned cheating.” The podcaster has repeatedly called for hydration testing to protect fighters, just like Asia ONE Championship, yet the organization has not taken decisive action. Alex Pereira embodies the brutal extremes of this process.

With a walk-around weight exceeding 240 lbs, he initially fought at middleweight, enduring punishing cuts that taxed both body and mind. Sean Strickland described the Brazilain during one weigh-in as looking “f–king death,” a stark illustration of the toll extreme weight cuts can take. Now, as ‘Poatan’ prepares to challenge for the light heavyweight title at UFC 320, the weight-cutting hurdle remains a looming obstacle. UFC veteran Michael Bisping has sounded a warning to Alex Pereira and the rest of the card to avoid complicating things for the promotion weigh-ins.

As Pereira himself revealed on social media last Saturday that he weighed 234 lbs—28 lbs over the title-fight limit. Bisping said: “So first of all, rather than bringing in hydration clause, and this and that and all that stuff, just gonna have bigger ramifications. The fighters have got to be professional. If they are going to say that I am going to make weight, if they sign on that dotted line, make weight. If you don’t make weight, then there is no going to be people know there’s serious consequences. And I think we are starting to see that come in a little bit more.”

Looking ahead, the question looms large: will Dana White & Co. finally introduce a hydration clause into fighter contracts to protect athlete safety? And if they do, could it dampen the hype that surrounds fight week? Share your thoughts below.