With only around 20 minutes left before the weigh-ins closed, Khamzat Chimaev stepped onto the scales as the last fighter to weigh in for his UFC 328 main event bout. Though the Chechen appeared physically miserable and weight-drained, he ended up making the official 185-pound weight limit on the dot. However, the real controversy began right after when several viewers noticed the scale’s manual balance bar was still bouncing and unsettled when the official announced the official weight. As a result, many began accusing the middleweight champion of missing weight and alleging the process was rushed intentionally to protect the main event.

One of the first fighters to publicly react was Bryce Mitchell, who appeared completely unconvinced that Khamzat Chimaev had actually made the weight.

“I’ve been making weight since I was 17 years old,” Mitchell said in a social media video. “I’m almost 32 now. It’s almost been 15 years. I know what it looks like when somebody makes that weight. They have to stand completely still. The little thingy-me-bob on the scale, it has to balance. That dude didn’t make that weight. There’s no convincing me, bro.”

Mitchell went on to declare Sean Strickland the winner of the matchup, arguing that the challenger had made weight while his champion opponent didn’t. But he wasn’t alone. Dustin Poirier weighed in on the controversy and appeared to question the weigh-in process entirely.

“Well, dude, if you watch the video, as soon as he steps on the scale, they say 185,” ‘The Diamond’ told Ariel Helwani. “It didn’t even have time to balance. This is like a hang scale, yes. As soon as he steps on, they say 185. Even if you read the weight quickly, you still have to let it balance to see if the guy’s on weight. Or, if it’s still balancing, he’s a couple of ounces over. You know, it’s tough to say.”

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier was also present during the morning weigh-in show and openly expressed concern about Chimaev’s physical appearance.

“Look at his demeanour, he is miserable,” he said. “He looks so skinny right now.”

However, Daniel Cormier cleared the air surrounding Khamzat Chimaev’s weight-miss controversy and confirmed that he did, in fact, 100% made it.

“He absolutely made weight !” DC posted on X. “When that thing broke down again that says he weighed 185.”

After the former two-division champion stated that Chimaev had officially hit the mark, the New Jersey State Athletic Commission also stepped in to clarify that the champion had made the stipulated weight.

Chimaev’s close friend and training partner, Arman Tsarukyan, who the UFC recently announced as the official backup fighter for the next lightweight title fight, revealed that Chimaev reportedly cut roughly 46 pounds (21 kg) before the weigh-ins. As a result, the brutal weight cut had left the 32-year-old looking weary and depleted.

Several prominent names from the MMA world also reacted to the controversy on social media.

MMA social media reacts to Khamzat Chimaev’s alleged missed weight at UFC 328 weigh-ins

After Khamzat Chimaev’s weigh-in fiasco, YouTuber MMA Guru took to the internet to claim Chimaev hadn’t made the weight and that Daniel Cormier also knew that ‘Borz’ had tipped the scales.

“Yeah, that scale did not settle at all,” he said. “You can tell even DC knew he didn’t make that weight. You even heard it clang into the top bar after he stepped on. I feel like the UFC are just in the business of not letting major fights get ruined by a pound or two at this point.”

Combat sports commentator and digital creator Wade Plemons from the W.A.D.E Concept also reacted to Chimaev’s brutal cut.

“Khamzat clearly had a really bad weight cut, which tells me he will look to finish this fight early,” he predicted. “That very well could happen. But if it doesn’t, Strickland could turn the tide in a big way in the late rounds.”

Interestingly, this is far from the first time Chimaev has dealt with weight-related issues in the UFC. Most notably, the undefeated star previously missed weight by over 7.5 pounds ahead of his scheduled welterweight fight against Nate Diaz at UFC 279 in 2022. As a result, the UFC was forced to reshuffle the card and move Chimaev out of the main event and place him against Kevin Holland in the co-main event.

Despite all the controversy surrounding the weigh-ins, Chimaev will move forward with his highly anticipated showdown against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 in Newark, Saturday night.