NYSAC Take Action Against Gastelum For UFC 244 Weigh-In Controversy

Two and a half years after Daniel Cormier controversially leant on his towel to make weight at UFC 210, ahead of his light heavyweight title clash with Anthony Johnson, Kelvin Gastelum has found himself being accused of cheating the scales, at UFC 244.

Gastelum faces Darren Till in the co-main event of UFC 244, which goes down this weekend at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Kelvin was the last fighter to weigh-in on Friday, taking to the scales with one minute to go. Usually a sign of a tough weight cut. Despite this, the 28 year old weighed in at 184lbs, 2lbs under the 186lbs limit for a UFC non-title middleweight fight.

Hidden behind a towel to hide his modesty, whereas every other fighter in need of cover used the ‘loop of shame’, Gastelum’s elbow was caught on camera touching his coach, Rafael Cordeiro’s shoulder. Obviously if there’s any contact, it possibly skew the official weight.

Having seen the video from different angles, the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) released the following statement (via MMA Fighting):

“The Commission has reviewed the footage of Mr. Gastelum’s weigh-in. The Commission has determined that Mr. Gastelum made contact with another person while on the scale, a violation of the weigh in policy.

“In light of this violation, the Commission will pursue disciplinary action. At this time, the official weight determination will not be disturbed, and Mr. Gastelum will not be disqualified from competing in UFC 244, as the possible contact indicated in the video cannot be said to have materially impacted Mr. Gastelum’s weight to the extent that he would have exceeded the applicable weight limit allowable for competition in the match.”

The NYSAC’s rules on weighing in read as follows:

“When on the scale, the combatant shall stand still with his or her feet flat upon the scale and shall not make physical contact with any person or object other than the scale. No other person shall touch the scale when a combatant is in the act of weighing in. While on the scale, the combatant shall follow any direction issued by the Commission.”

When asked about the incident, Gastelum denied any wrong doing, replying “I didn’t even notice that he (Cordeiro) was so close to me. What the commission told me was to lift my hands up. So that’s what I did. I was just following the rules”

Till was asked by Brett Okamoto about the controversial weigh-in, to which he replied he didn’t care.


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