Rafael Alves issues statement following embarrassing weight miss, claims salmon played a factor

UFC featherweight Rafael Alves pointed to salmon as the reason behind his record-setting 11.5lbs weight miss for his fight at UFC Vegas 19.

It was an embarrassing morning on the scale for Alves, a former Titan FC and Contender Series competitor who was set to make his UFC debut against Pat Sabatini in the curtain jerker of UFC Vegas 19. Alves weighed in at 157.5lbs for his featherweight bout against Sabatini, which was a full 11.5lbs above the non-title featherweight limit of 146lbs. It’s actually the biggest weight miss in UFC history, narrowing beating out Anthony Johnson, who came in at 197lbs, a whole 11lbs over the limit for a middleweight bout against Vitor Belfort in 2012. It’s very rare to see a fighter at the UFC level miss weight this egregiously.

Alves says that he knows what happened. Speaking to MMAFighting.com‘s Guilherme Cruz, Alves said that the salmon that he ate the night before led to a miserable weight cut.

“I ate salmon yesterday and fell ill, vomit and diarrhea, so the doctor said I had to treat it with water. I only had 2kg (4.4lbs) 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,” Alves said.

Alves said that he cuts down from 195lbs to make 145lbs, which is an insane weight cut even for MMA standards. The Brazilian said UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby told him he will get another fight with the promotion once he feels better. After coming in two weight classes above for this fight with Sabatini, Alves said he will now move up to lightweight.

“Sean Shelby said that health is what matters now. He told me this has happened to champions before and told me to fight at 155lbs and come back stronger. They won’t cut me because they had to change opponents and they were searching for a new one, some said they would fight at 155lbs and others at 145lbs, so I didn’t focus on the guy I was fighting nor my weight. But I’m going to fight at 155lbs now. I’m focused and nothing will stop me,” Alves said.

Do you think Rafael Alves deserves another fight in the UFC or should he be cut after missing weight so badly?