UFC Vegas 19: Featherweight Fighter Rafael Alves Breaks Down in Tears After Missing the Weight by 11.5 Pounds

Curtis Blaydes will headline UFC Vegas 19 as he takes on fellow top heavyweight Derrick Lewis. The rest of the fight card is stacked with some incredibly interesting fights all the way to the preliminary card. However, the card had to be reduced by one fight after Rafael Alves missed weight for his fight against Patrick Sabatini. 

The two men were supposed to fight in the featherweight division. Earlier today, Alves set a record that he might not want to be tagged with his name. The Brazilian fighter stepped on the scale at 157.5 pounds. A staggering 11.5 pounds over the featherweight non-title limit of 146-pounds. In the process, he set a record in the UFC for the biggest weight miss. The fight has been since scrapped from the card due to the lopsided miss. 

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What is next for Rafael Alves?

Unfortunately, Alves was one of four fighters to have missed weight for UFC Vegas 19. After missing weight, the Brazilian fighter said, “I ate salmon yesterday and fell ill, [had] vomit and diarrhea, so the doctor said I had to treat it with [drinking] water. I only had 2kg [4.4 pounds] left to cut, [but] when I drank water my weight went up and got stuck, so the doctor didn’t clear me to fight. But God owns everything, and He knows what He does”

Leading up to the fight, Alves had mentioned that this would be his last fight in the featherweight division and that he planned to move up to lightweight after his fight. However, this has been fast-tracked and Alves now aims at fighting in the lightweight division next and will not be aiming to make remake the fight with Patrick Sabatini. 

The UFC has insisted that despite the record weight miss, the promotion will not be cutting ties with the fighter. ‘The Turn’ made his debut on Dana White’s Contender Series in August last year. This would have been his second fight in the UFC. 

Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson held the previous record for missing weight when he came in 11 pounds overweight for his bout against Vitor Belfort at UFC 142.