What the heck just happened? Insert some stronger language and that had to be Dana White's initial reaction to Anthony Johnson's huge gaffe at the UFC 142 weigh-in.
Johnson, a massive 170-pounder, took this fight at 185 pounds months ago. Thought by some to be the smaller fighter against Vitor Belfort, Johnson clocked in at a shocking 197 pounds! The backstory was that Johnson got as low as 187.5 and doctors told him to stop.
UPDATE: Here's the medical explanation why Johnson stopped cutting weight at 187.5 pounds.
[Don't miss the action: Watch UFC 142 live on Y! Sports]
White was alerted to the issue earlier in the day and announced right around 4 p.m. ET that Johnson wasn't going to make weight.
"Rumble Johnson is not on weight today. And when I say he's not on weight he's way off weight," White said on FX.
White rightly flips out when fighters miss weight by three or four pounds. This was 11 pounds (186 is allowable middleweight limit)!
"As a fighter, you are a professional. You are contracted to come in at a certain weight. This is not the first time this has happened with Johnson. He moved up to 185 pounds so this wouldn't happen to him at 170 pounds, and here we are in the same position again. [Belfort] came in like a professional on weight, and Anthony Johnson comes in as a total unprofessional, way overweight."
The next step to officially making the fight tomorrow is also mind-blowing. Fighters like to rehydrate and replenish their body after the weigh-in. Johnson has to watch his intake. If he balloons higher than 205, Belfort said he won't take the fight.
"The stipulation is, Vitor does not want him to weigh more than 205 pounds by tomorrow at like 2 o'clock in the afternoon," White said. "So we'll see how this thing plays out. He'll weigh in today and have to weigh in tomorrow."
Johnson was making his debut at middleweight after waging his previous 10 UFC fights down at welterweight. The 27-year-old will be fine 20 percent of his show purse. If he loses badly, he may have to worry about a pink slip arriving soon from the promotion. Let's hope there was some legitimate excuse that can excuse Johnson's big mistake.
UFC 142 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie):
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Jose Aldo (145) vs. Chad Mendes (144)
Vitor Belfort (186) vs. Anthony Johnson (197)
Mike Massenzio (184) vs. Rousimar Palhares (186)
Carlo Prater (170) vs. Erick Silva (169)
Edson Barboza (154) vs. Terry Etim (155)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)
Sam Stout (155) vs. Thiago Tavares (155)
Gabriel Gonzaga (250) vs. Ednaldo Oliveira (229)
Yuri Alcantara (145) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (146)
Ricardo Funch (170) vs. Mike Pyle (171)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Felipe Arantes (145) vs. Antonio "Pato" Carvalho (144)
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