MINNEAPOLIS — The Dennis Hallman vs. Thiago Tavares lightweight fight, scheduled to take place Friday night on the UFC on FX 5 prelims, has been canceled because Hallman failed to make weight Thursday.
Afterward, Hallman was cut from the UFC, he told MMA Fighting in a text message.
“They are cutting me,” he wrote. “Dana [White] gave me my show and win pay to help me deal with the mountain in front of me. Now I have to go make weight a couple times on the regional circuit. I’ll be back to the UFC though, I always am.”
This marks the second straight time Hallman failed to make weight, however, the 16-year-veteran told MMA Fighting following the weigh-ins that his misstep was related to a personal issue.
“I’m having some personal issues at home,” Hallman said. “I’m not fit to fight. I told Dana [White] what my issues were. He understands family matters, and he was cool with me not fighting.”
According to Hallman he passed out earlier today while cutting weight. At that time, he was two pounds over the 156-pound weight limit. He was then given fluids via an intravenous, which bumped him up to seven pounds over the lightweight limit.
When Tavares was notified of this news, he said that if Hallman got down to three pounds over the limit, he would accept the fight at a catchweight. Hallman told MMAFighting.com that he did just that, but according to Hallman, Tavares then asked for him to cut one more pound.
It was at that point that Hallman spoke to White about his personal issues and requested to be removed from the card. He said White was very understanding when he told him about his issues, which he wanted to keep private.
UFC sources told MMAFighting.com earlier in the day that Tavares will receive his show money for the canceled bout.
Hallman, a veteran of over 80 professional MMA fights, was the longest-tenured fighter on the current UFC roster. He was coming off a first-round submission win over John Makdessi at UFC 140, a lightweight fight he missed weight for by two-and-a-half pounds.
[Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 9 pm ET with the news of Hallman’s release.]