UFC 254's main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje is on, but there's some questions about whether Khabib's weigh in was legitimate.
There's a huge title fight in the main event to Saturday night's pay-per-view on Fight Island, in Abu Dhabi, as Khabib and Gaethje each put their version of the lightweight title on the line to unify the division.
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Fans are excited to see Gaethje line up as the latest man to try and stop the Russian and take away his perfect record, but on Friday that excitement turned to concern.
The Eagle weighed in at the 155lbs limit but he looked extremely relieved to have done so, leading some fans to question if he'd actually weighed in correctly.
That theory has now been backed up by nutritionist Mike Dolce, who has worked with UFC fighters like Ronda Rousey and Thiago Alves in the past.
"Something very disturbing happened at the weigh-ins for UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje," Dolce began to explain on his YouTube channel.
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"What happened? When Khabib stepped on the scale, the inspector - either through sheer incompetence or (intentionally) - made a massive mistake that's maybe worth tens of millions of dollars.
"Unfortunately, in my expert opinion, I do not believe that Khabib would have made the 155-pound weight class limit on this attempt.
"Now, Khabib was the first man on the scale and would've had time to cut that additional weight if he was physically able, but when you look at his language I will explain ... why he wouldn't have been able to do it."
Speaking about the weighing process, Dolce added, "(The beam is going in an) upwards trajectory, and it has to balance.
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"It's going up. That means he's heavy, and (the official) wipes it there as it's still on its way up. It doesn't bounce and doesn't stabilize in the center. That's not correct."
Khabib has had issues with cutting weight before, most notably ahead of UFC 209 when he was supposed to fight Tony Ferguson, the third of six times the pair were meant to meet but didn't.
Ferguson may have originally been the backup for Gaethje and was supposed to fight Dustin Poirier on the undercard, with Poirier acting as Khabib's backup.
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After that fight fell through it was announced that former Bellator fighter Michael Chandler was the fall back plan if either man couldn't make it, despite never having fought in UFC previously.
With Khabib having officially made weight, whether you believe Dolce's theory or not, the former Bellator Lightweight World champion is unlikely to be needed.
Instead we just have an exciting war between Khabib and Gaethje on our hands.
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Who do you think will walk away from UFC 254 as the undisputed lightweight champ? Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: BT Sport/UFCTopics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Fight Island, Justin Gaethje, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA, Dana White
