Iconic referee explains UFC scale ‘leeway’ after Chimaev drama

Sean Strickland accused Khamzat Chimaev of cheating after many people pointed out how quickly his weight was read out when he stepped on the scales.

Referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy explained that while a digital scale would remove any doubt, athletic commissions have been hesitant to make the switch due to the strictness of those measurements.

He noted that a fighter just slightly over the limit on a digital scale would be forced to continue cutting, whereas a beam scale allows for more flexibility.

“A lot of people don’t like the digital scales based upon, I’m going to be honest as I can here, that beam scale, when it’s hovering in the middle, it could be where it’s hovering a little high and they’re going to say you made weight,” he said on the Weighing In podcast.

“It’s in black and white there [on a digital scale] and makes it to where the fighter now has to go, and if they have the opportunity based on time, go and actually try to dehydrate themselves more and commissions look at it as it’s a health issue.”

Chimaev’s body reportedly shut down during his weight cut. His brother explained that this was partly due to Borz having trained for light heavyweight before being matched up with Strickland at 185 pounds.