This Saturday, UFC 325 heads to Perth, with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski set to defend his title against Diego Lopes in the main event.
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Since this is the first UFC card in Perth since 2023, several fighters from Australia and New Zealand appear throughout the lineup.
One of them is Aaron Tau, who was looking to get a contract with the UFC by winning his final Road to the UFC fight. Unfortunately for Tau, things didn’t go as planned.
Aaron Tau addresses weigh-in controversy after UFC 325 elimination
Tau was set to face Namsrai Batbayer in the Road to the UFC finals, and a win could secure him a contract with the promotion.
During Friday’s weigh-in, he tried an old-school trick popularized by former double champion Daniel Cormier, who once used a towel for support while making weight. Instead of going that route, Tau leaned his elbows on the weighing box and ended up weighing 121 pounds. Officials then asked for a reweighing, where he weighed more than 129 pounds.
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The failed attempts led to his fight being canceled and him being removed from the card.
“I need to apologize to my opponent, UFC, my team and my fans. I thought I pushed until the end, I have a job, make weight and fight. I didn’t do that. I’m sorry,” Tau said via Instagram.
UFC 325 Poll Results: Fan Prediction for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes
In Bloody Elbow’s pre-fight poll, fans were asked to choose who they think will walk out of Sydney with the featherweight belt.
Given that Volkanovski already held a clear victory over Lopes last April, it is not surprising that more than 70 percent of those surveyed backed ‘The Great’ to keep his title.
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The poll obtained 1,162 votes in total, of which only 331 believe that Lopes will be the one to end Volkanovski’s reign on Saturday night.