NEW YORK — The New York State Athletic Commission will take disciplinary action against UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum after it determined the fighter “made contact with another person while on the scale” during the UFC 244 official weigh-in Friday.
Gastelum’s middleweight bout against Darren Till on Saturday is not in jeopardy.
Gastelum (16-4) appeared to struggle to make weight Friday, as he was the last competitor on the UFC 244 card to make it to the scale. He ultimately weighed in at 184 pounds — 2 pounds under the non-title middleweight limit.
He and his team immediately celebrated after he did so.
Multiple video angles of the weigh-in, however, appeared to show Gastelum’s elbow might have touched his coach, Rafael Cordeiro, as he was on the scale. Obviously, if Gastelum was leaning on Cordeiro in any way, it might have skewed his official weight.
In a statement, NYSAC said that the contact violated the weigh-in policy and that it “will pursue disciplinary action.”
“The commission has reviewed the footage available to it at this time of Mr. Gastelum’s weigh-in,” the statement read. “The official weight determination will not be disturbed, and Mr. Gastelum will not be disqualified from competing in UFC 244, as the possible contact indicated in the video cannot be said to have materially impacted Mr. Gastelum’s weight to the extent that he would have exceeded the applicable weight limit allowable for competition in the match.”
The NYSAC dealt with a similar matter in 2017, when then-light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier appeared to push down on a towel that was extended in front of him during a weigh-in to manipulate his result. The commission didn’t catch it at the time, and Cormier went on to defend his belt against Anthony Johnson.