Women’s Bantamweight in Tears at Scales, Fight Called as Opponent Misses Target
Melissa Mullins (7-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) found herself on the opposite side of a weight miss at the official weigh-ins for this weekend’s UFC London. During 2024, Mullins, who had been booked to set foot in the Octagon for UFC London this weekend in a w...
Melissa Mullins (7-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) found herself on the opposite side of a weight miss at the official weigh-ins for this weekend’s UFC London. During 2024, Mullins, who had been booked to set foot in the Octagon for UFC London this weekend in a women’s bantamweight contest vs. Luana Carolina (11-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC,) exceeded the contracted weight on two occasions.
Most recently, Mullins overshot the target when she weighed-in at 137 lbs for a November 2024 fight against Klaudia Sygula at the Meta Apex. This fight directly followed a contest the previous April against Nora Cornolle (9-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC.)
In that particular fight, both contestants exceeded the 136-lb nontitle maximum, with Nora Cornolle weighing-in at 138 1/2 lbs and Melissa Mullins coming in at 138 lbs even. Neither fight where Melissa Mullins exceeded weight was cancelled and she went 1-1 in those contests. But now, it looks like UFC CEO Dana White may not have any choice but to give Luana Carolina her walking papers.
At Friday morning’s official weigh-in window for UFC London, Melissa Mullins, who would have been on the first fight of the card tomorrow night, was the first contestant to tip the scales. In a departure from her past troubles with the scales, Mullins made the 136-lb nontitle target without issue.
Luana Carolina was one of two fighters on the show to miss weight, but her weight miss was the more egregious of the two. Carolina weighed-in at 144 lbs, a staggering 8 lbs over the nontitle maximum. Ravena Oliveira also missed weight, though by only half of a pound, for her strawweight contest versus Shanelle Dyer.
Upon Mullins successfully making weight, she could be seen tearing up on-camera. Due to Luana Carolina’s weight miss, the fight was ordered postponed by the commission.
Melissa Mullins Sounds Off on UFC London Prelim Postponement
In the wake of learning that her fight against Luana Carolina would be canceled for UFC London Saturday night, Melissa Mullins took to Instagram to vent her frustrations.
“Although I made weight, it was definitely a harder cut than I expected!,” Mullins posted. “My opponent missed weight by 8 lbs officially and although we agreed to take the fight, the commission used by the UFC are not happy have pulled the fight from the card.”
Mullins’ emotions over the now-canceled clash with Carolina are perhaps best summarized with this quote:
“All my hard work wasted and the opportunity to fight on my home turf stolen from me!”
Weight Misses Nothing New for Luana Carolina Either
While Melissa Mullins has had to deal with weight misses before, the same is also true for her opponent in tomorrow’s scrapped fight. Saturday’s contest in UFC London is the second time since March of last year that she’s had a fight get scrubbed from the bout order due to issues at the scale.
It’s also the third instance of Luana Carolina missing weight in her UFC tenure. Given that this is the second time in slightly more than a full year that this has happened, it’s a cause for concern.
When a fighter is booked to appear on any given Saturday night inside the cage, it’s of the utmost importance that the fighter in question makes the best effort possible to try to come in within the contracted weight, if not make the contracted weight exactly on the scales the morning before the show.
The time has come for Dana White to think about Luana Carolina’s future in the UFC beyond this canceled fight. A competitor can’t miss weight three times in a promotion, especially in the way that Luana Carolina did on Friday morning, and expect to keep his or her place on the active roster.
Final Thoughts: Melissa Mullins Loses the Most From This Situation
Whether or not Dana White chooses to drop Luana Carolina from the UFC’s roster in the wake of her weight miss on Friday remains to be seen. With the fight canceled, there won’t be a winner or loser on the scorecards.
One can’t help but feel sorry for Melissa Mullins after her bout was postponed. This is a fighter who did everything right leading up to UFC London on Saturday, but after her opponent missed weight Friday, Mullins will walk away from the weekend with nothing to show for it.
The UFC should do what’s right and rebook Melissa Mullins for a fight as soon as possible.
