Fans share theories as Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 319 weigh-in leaves many baffled… ‘That’s very weird’

Khamzat Chimaev cut two pounds below the required weight for UFC 319

Even at middleweight, some remain apprehensive when former welterweight contender Chimaev appears on stage to weigh in. But like champ Du Plessis, the challenger kept his end of the deal in the ‘Windy City’.

Chimaev weighed in first for UFC 319 and was successful. And more than just hitting the championship limit, ‘Borz’ came in a surprising two pounds under it at 183 pounds.

That figure means Chimaev was 2.5 pounds lighter on the scale than for his victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in 2023 and three pounds below the weight for Chimaev’s brutal win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last year.

Making that more interesting and somewhat confusing was the fact that ‘Borz’ stripped down and stepped on the scale inside the box, which is usually only brought out if a fighter believes they are in danger of coming in overweight.

Fans left questioning Khamzat Chimaev’s cut and weigh-in ahead of UFC 319

Chimaev’s weight and decision to strip down in the box quickly drew out reactions from fans and pundits, many of whom were left confused by the Chechen star’s latest weigh-in.

Among the theories, some suggested the challenger was simply playing it safe and avoiding weight issues that have affected Chimaev in the past.

“I unironically think this was strategic on his end so he can kinda show the UFC, ‘Hey I can definitely make 170 for that double champ fight.'”

“Bro got naked for no reason.”

“Maybe he didn’t want to mess with being close or having to suck weight at the last second for a title fight?”

“Means he was more prepared to cut weight. He should be in better condition for the fight.”

“Could be part of the plan given his new S&C coach? Interested to see if that will impact his conditioning past round 2.”

“Probably just playing it safe.”

“Even weirder…he used the box. Very unusual in my opinion.”

“Why would he use the box when he’s 2 under??”

“He wasn’t taking any chances this time.”

“That’s very weird.”

While others put it down to potential issues with the scale, some went a more humorous route and joked that Chimaev thought he was back at welterweight and was actually 13 pounds over his targeted weight.

“Probably had a badly calibrated scale.”

“He thought he weighing in for welterweight again.”

“They should check those scales.”

“His nutritionist didn’t plan for him lifting DC (Daniel Cormier).”