British UFC fighter Melissa Mullins was in “tears of joy” as she took to the scales on Friday, only for her opponent to fail to make weight.
Mullins, born in Oxford but fighting out of Coventry, was due to face Luana Carolina in the opening bout of UFC London on Saturday, but that contest was cancelled on Friday morning.
Mullins had successfully weighed at 136lb, as one of the first fighters on the scale, but the 34-year-old was in tears as she did so.
After a brief period of speculation as to what in particular had made her so emotional, the answer seemed to come in the form of Carolina’s weigh-in – although Mullins later dismissed the idea that her emotions were tied to her opponent’s weight.
The Brazilian, 32, was 8lb over the 136lb bantamweight limit, coming in at 144lb. She weighed in behind a curtain, seemingly in minimal or no clothing, as fighters often do while struggling to make weight.
Once her weight was read aloud by UFC commentator John Gooden, it was announced that Carolina would be cutting no more weight. Later in the morning, Gooden said: “Due to regulatory reasons, the fight has been cancelled.”
The weight miss was Carolina’s third in the UFC, while Mullins herself has missed weight twice in the promotion.
UFC London is due to take place at the O2 Arena as usual, and Mullins’s fight with Carolina was due to be the Briton’s fifth in the company.
She wrote on Instagram: “I made weight and it was definitely a harder cut than I expected! My opponent missed weight by 8lbs officially, and although we agreed to take the fight, the commission used by the UFC are not happy, [they] have pulled the fight from the card!!
“All my hard work wasted and the opportunity to fight on my home turf stolen from me! To preform [sic] on the very best platform taken in moments!! Guys make some noise please and help me get back out fighting on a card asap!”
In an Instagram story, Mullins added: “I did not know Luana was going to miss weight until after [I had stepped on] the scales! I had tears of joy in making weight.. Becuase [sic] it was a lot harder compared to last time.”
Mullins is 2-2 in the UFC so far, with her record in the promotion reading win, loss, win, loss since her debut in 2023. Her most-recent outing was a decision defeat by Darya Zheleznyakova in June. Mullins’s overall record in mixed martial arts is 7-2.
In spite of Mullins’s absence from Saturday’s event, the UFC London card is full of British names. Manchester’s Lerone Murphy will headline against Movsar Evloev, with the fight widely seen as a title eliminator at featherweight. However, Murphy said he had been given no assurances by the UFC.
Both Murphy and his Russian opponent made weight on Friday, with Murphy tipping the scales at 145lb and Evloev at 146lb.
In the co-main event, Liverpool’s Luke Riley – a teammate of UFC star Paddy Pimblett – will take on US featherweight Michael Aswell Jr. Riley and Aswell Jr both made weight on Friday.
