“Violent Bob Ross” apologized to fans, the UFC, and his opponent for missing weight Friday ahead of UFC Nashville.
Luis Pena is taking the blame for missing weight ahead of UFC Nashville.
“Violent Bob Ross” weighed in two and a half pounds over the featherweight limit for Saturday’s main card fight against Steven Peterson, which marks his first fight in the division. Pena, who competed at 155 pounds for his first two UFC fights, apologized to Peterson, the UFC, and his fans in a statement issued Friday on social media.
“I take full responsibility for missing weight, things happened outside of my control that I shouldn’t have worried about, and I should have taken control of the things that I could in a much better fashion than what I did,” Pena wrote. “I’m not asking for nor do I expect any sympathy. … Please don’t think I was in anyway trying to miss weight on purpose or anything like that.”
— Luis Antonio Pena (@violentbobross) March 22, 2019
Pena stands 6-foot-3, so many thought the cut down to 145 pounds would be difficult, unhealthy, and perhaps unsuccessful. Though it didn’t work the first time for The Ultimate Fighter 27 competitor, Pena is confident he’ll be able to hit the featherweight limit in the future. From the sounds of it, his days at featherweight are over.
“I approached the last part of my cut in the wrong way and that is on me,” Pena, who is 1-1 int he Octagon, wrote. “I know I can make this weight no matter the mitigating circumstances and should have.”
UFC Nashville, which takes place at Bridgestone Arena, is headlined by a welterweight bout between former title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis.