After the rollercoaster of emotions that was the final 10 minutes of the official UFC 210 weigh ins, a lot of questions are being asked as the dust settles.
Daniel Cormier weighted in at 206.2 at his first attempt, then disappeared for no more than two minutes only to return and weigh in at 205 on the dot.
The first question being raised is what Cormier was doing with his towel when he weighed in. Many people picked up on the fact that Cormier was leaning on the towel for his second attempt.
Cormier at 206.2 (no hands)
Cormier at 205.0 (with hands)
Lost the 1.2 lbs when he pushed up on towel @Josh_Yurasits @FrontRowBrian #ufc210 pic.twitter.com/8iQ0CWxUK3— Nick Grinups (@nickgrinups) April 7, 2017
Here is what everyone is mentioning. Cormier holding down on the towel when he made weight pic.twitter.com/qJx9Jw2hXW
— Jason Floyd (@Jason_Floyd) April 7, 2017
But seriously, was Cormier pushing down on the towel, and if so, could that affect the reading? #UFC210
— Hunter Alek Homistek (@HunterAHomistek) April 7, 2017
Cormier was pressing down on a towel that each (holder of towel) was playing tug of war with. very poor display
— GambLou (@GambLou) April 7, 2017
And the footage shows that he clearly was...
So that's one theory, here's another led by none other than Cathal Pendred:
Cormier somehow lost 1.2 pounds in 20 seconds. And then Rumble weighed in exactly 1.2 pounds under limit?
That's not suspicious at all! ?— Cathal Pendred (@Pendred) April 7, 2017
@nickgrinups @tubes33 @Josh_Yurasits @FrontRowBrian Not to mention Cormier was 1.2 over before he tried again and rumble was 1.2 under... easy to recalibrate a scale.
— Gondul (@conradforbis) April 7, 2017
So suddenly Cormier loses 1.2 pounds and then Rumble makes 203.8 - exactly 1.2 below the 205 mark. Suspicious. #ufc210
— Joe Docker (@joe__docker) April 7, 2017
What a coincidence, Rumble weighed 1.2 lbs under 205, and Cormier's 2nd weigh-in was 1.2 lbs less than his first!
— Brett Awesome (@BrettAwesome) April 7, 2017
There are many theories swirling, but there is little chance of anything being done.
At the end of the day, while rules are there for a reason, 1.2 pounds is not going to make any difference in this fight. Both Cormier and Rumble desperately want this to be an official title fight, and both men are delighted to be able to go ahead.
Essentially, there very may well have been shady tactics to get this fight over the line, but there is no victim in this case with the weight cuts having already been done and everyone ready to go.
Still, the drama. Incredible.
