UFC Vegas 123 weigh-ins concluded with most fighters meeting the required weight limits. Unfortunately, the promotion’s return on Halloween at Meta Apex became a nightmare for one fighter who failed to make weight for a non-title bout.

The fighter in question is Francis Marshall, who is scheduled to face Dakota Hope on the UFC Vegas 123 prelims in a featherweight bout on October 31, 2026. Marshall weighed in at 148 pounds during the official weigh-ins, missing the division’s non-title limit of 146 lbs by 2 pounds.

As a result of the weigh-in miss, the promotion shifted the 27-year-old New Jersey-based fighter’s bout to a catchweight. However, that came with a price. Marshall had to forfeit 20% of his purse, which will be awarded to his opponent, Dakota Hope, who successfully made 145.5, half a pound under the division’s non-title limit.

Francis Marshall missing weight at UFC Vegas 123 was surprising. This is the first time the New Jersey-based fighter missed the mark in his career, and he never disclosed any weight-cutting problems at featherweight.

What’s more surprising is that he wasn’t expected to miss weight before the event.

Marshall’s fight went through a sudden change after his original opponent, Gaston Bolanos, pulled out because of an injury he sustained during training. That forced the UFC to find a replacement, and Hope took the fight on less than a month’s notice. Even so, Hope successfully made the featherweight limit while Marshall couldn’t.

In a UFC event, scheduled fights take place under the distinction of a title and non-title bout.

In the case of a non-title bout, athletes are allowed to weigh in one pound over their divisional limits. The commission offers this allowance to avoid penalizing fighters for their grueling weight cuts. However, that’s not the case with title fights.

A championship fight in the UFC is meant to reflect the pinnacle of that division. Because of this, fighters contending for the promotion’s belt are bound to make the exact limit of their respective division.

For example, UFC Vegas 123 lightweight headliners Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan weighed in at 156 pounds and 155.5 pounds, respectively. Their main-event bout this weekend has no title on the line, so they perfectly made the lightweight division’s non-title limit of 156 lbs.

In contrast, Charles Oliveira missed the lightweight division’s championship limit of 155 lbs against Justin Gaethje at UFC 273 in 2022 by 0.5 pounds, which led the UFC to strip the Brazilian of his title. Oliveira also forfeited 20% of his purse to Gaethje to keep the fight alive. 

‘Do Bronx’ won the contest by first-round submission, but he couldn’t become the champion for missing the lightweight division’s title fight limit. 

That said, Francis Marshall’s weight miss spoiled UFC Vegas 123 weigh-ins that aimed for perfection. Besides him, the remaining 23 fighters hit the scale perfectly.  

The New Jersey-based fighter is coming off two impressive wins against Erik Silva and Lukas Brennan, but his overall UFC record is a bit underwhelming at 4 wins-3 losses.

A loss to Hope would even out his wins and losses, which wouldn’t be a good look for his future in the promotion after missing weight at such an important event.

That said, most of the high-stakes bouts are still intact for the UFC’s Halloween fight night event.

UFC Vegas 123: Important fights remained unscathed    

The headliners of this week’s event, Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan, have successfully made weight was already discussed while explaining the difference between non-title and title bouts. However, UFC Vegas 123’s main event has much higher stakes attached than just another fight.

Recently, Moicano disclosed that he has only three fights left under his current UFC contract. After his fight with Nolan is done, the Brazilian would have two more, and then he would be a free agent. But instead of re-signing with the UFC, Moicano is contemplating testing his value outside the promotion.

For a UFC fighter, it’s nothing out of the ordinary to explore options in other promotions. But for Moicano, who is ranked number 8 at 155 lbs, the result of his next fight could have an impact on that decision, not only from his end but from the UFC’s perspective as well. A loss from here would drop him out of the top 10.

On the other hand, #12-ranked Tom Nolan is currently on a five-fight winning streak, and a win against Moicano would elevate him in the rankings and earn him much more appealing fights. If he loses somehow, Nolan would be going back to the drawing board, figuring out his next step without worrying much about losing his spot in the lightweight rankings.

Fighters like Tofiq Musayev, Rafael Fiziev, and Esteban Ribovics are ranked below Nolan, and one of them could easily be his next opponent.

Alongside the main event, the co-main event is also high-stakes in its own right.

Randy Brown successfully made the welterweight non-title limit of 170.5 lbs, and undefeated fighter Jacobe Smith also weighed 170.5, making their bout official.

Brown is coming off two losses against Gabriel Bonfim and Kevin Holland, which massively derailed his momentum. On the other side, Jacobe Smith is an undefeated 13-0 phenom who tore apart his last four UFC opponents. 

A loss from here for Brown would likely push the UFC to cut him, while Smith’s win would just improve his career record because his opponent isn’t ranked at welterweight.  

The results of the UFC Vegas 123 fight card are as follows:  

Main Card

• Lightweight: Renato Moicano (156 lbs) vs. Tom Nolan (155.5) – main event. 
• Welterweight: Randy Brown (170.5 lbs) vs. Jacobe Smith (170.5 lbs) – co main. 
• Flyweight: Ode Osbourne (126 lbs) vs. Cody Durden (126 lbs)
• Women’s bantamweight: Yana Santos (135.5 lbs) vs. Luana Santos (136 lbs)
• Welterweight: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani (170.5 lbs) vs. Farman Hasanov (171 lbs)

Prelims 

• Featherweight: Francis Marshall (148 lbs*) vs. Dakota Hope (145.5 lbs)
• Welterweight: Rodrigo Sezinando (170.5 lbs ) vs. Theodor Berggren (171 lbs)
• Featherweight: Julian Erosa (145.5 lbs) vs. Jeong Yeong Lee (145.5 lbs)
• Middleweight: Zachary Reese (185 lbs) vs. Mickey Gall (185.5 lbs)
• Middleweight: Nick Klein (186 lbs) vs. Joe Kropschot (186 lbs)
• Strawweight: Talita Alencar (116 lbs) vs. Piera Rodriguez (115.5 lbs)
• Women’s flyweight: Lucia Szabova (125.5 lbs) vs. Tainara Lisboa (125 lbs) 

With the UFC Vegas 123 weigh-ins done, it remains to be seen how the actual fights turn out this weekend. Fireworks or fizzle?