Beneil Dariush explains his interpretation of the “scale drama” that went down at UFC 274.
The official weigh-ins for UFC 274 were filled with controversy. Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira came in heavy for his title defense against Justin Gaethje and was subsequently stripped of the title.
Many fighters came to Oliveira’s defense saying they believed the official scale was not accurate. Oliveira himself also felt the reading was wrong. Nonetheless, he is won the fight and the title is left vacant.
UFC President Dana White spoke following the vent about measures he is planning to take in order for the scale to be protected. He claimed that fighters and their team members come to use the official scale the night before and mess with the settings. He will now place security by the scale around the clock to prevent this.
One man who is in the title hunt at 155 pounds, Beneil Dariush, was asked about this theory of scale tampering by White and he shared his thoughts with ESPN.
“He wasn’t going to miss half a pound, he’s not trying to give up his purse,” Dariush explained. “So I’m sure he was on weight like he said he was, I believe him. And as far as people getting on that scale and sitting on that scale and changing the kilos to pounds, totally true, all the time people do it. I mean, I’ve seen it. I’ve been doing my practice and I’ve seen people sitting on our scales and things like that. So I’ve seen all that I see both sides.
Dariush is ranked sixth in the division and could be on the shortlist of opponents next to fight Oliveira. As a potential title contender, he was watching the events of the weigh-in unfold. He believes the UFC made the right choice in stripping Oliveira.
“And you know a lot of people say Charles shouldn’t have been stripped. Here’s the problem if you don’t strip Charles, you can’t give Gaethje the belt if Gaethje won,” he said. “That was the issue. The reason why they took the belt from Charles was because if we’re having a title fight, and the belt belongs to Charles, he didn’t make 155 so they’re not fighting for the 155 belt. So that’s why they did it the way they did it. I understand why UFC did what they did. I understand why Charles feels the way he does. Like it’s just a poop situation.”
Dariush is currently rehabbing a leg injury that removed him from his scheduled bout with Islam Makhachev back in February. His timeline for a return is not set but would ideally be late summer.
Do you think the scale at the UFC 274 weigh-ins was tampered with?
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