One fight has been scratched from UFC 325 after a fighter who had not even signed with the company yet was caught trying to manipulate his weigh-in.
Aaron Tau, a flyweight, was supposed to take on Namsrai Batbayar in the Road to UFC finals, which were set to take place on the prelims for Saturday’s Sydney card.
In the weigh-ins, he tried an old trick made famous by Daniel Cormier, but it did not go as planned.
The curtain is meant for fighters weighing in without clothes, but Tau leaned too much on it and ended up underweight. When he stepped back onto the scales for another attempt, he was well over the limit.
UFC 325 fight called off after failed weigh-in trick
The UFC 325 weigh-ins took place on Friday morning in Sydney, which meant it was Thursday night for fans in the US. Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes had already hit the scales early, and with less than half an hour remaining, only one fighter was left to step up.
Aaron Tau, who holds an 11-1 record with his only loss coming during a Dana White’s Contender Series bout in 2024, was the last man to hit the scales. At first glance, it looked like he had made weight using the curtain trick.
It did not take long for suspicions to arise. Despite taking longer than anyone else on the card, he initially appeared 2.5lb under the limit. When asked to step on the scales again, Tau weighed in at 129lb.
The fight was not officially part of Tau’s debut but would have contributed towards Road to UFC standings. It was quickly cancelled once everything unfolded.
How Daniel Cormier’s weigh-in trick earned him a UFC title fight
In 2017, Daniel Cormier was gearing up for his second title defence at light-heavyweight, facing Anthony Johnson. Cormier had dropped down from heavyweight, clearing the way for teammate Cain Velasquez to chase that belt.
But making weight had always been an issue for Cormier. At the UFC 210 weigh-ins on April 7, he initially came in at 206.2lb before returning to try again.
Remarkably, just minutes later and after appearing to come in over the limit at first, he returned to weigh in right on target. The fight went ahead as planned. Later on, Cormier confessed that he had leaned lightly on the towel held up for privacy during the weigh-in – something he had picked up during his wrestling career.
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