If you’re gonna try and pull off the “DC” towel trick, you better have a light touch or they’re going to catch you.
That’s the lesson Road To UFC finalist Aaron Tau learned this morning in Sydney, Australia during the UFC 325 weigh-ins. Tau was supposed to fight Namsrai Batbayar on the prelims of UFC 325, which also served as the tournament finals for Road To UFC, an Asia-focused series. But after some serious tomfoolery which saw Tau rest his arms on the ‘modesty box’ to cheat the scale resulted
in the fight being cancelled.
Video of the incident shows Tau, covered by a fabric box used when fighters shed their shorts, weighing in at 122.5 pounds, 3.5 lighter than the flyweight limit. The box is then taken away and Tau steps on the scale again … this time at 129 pounds, 3 pounds over the limit.
Closer watching of the initial weigh-in with the box catches Tau putting his elbows on the box, which is a similar trick to what former light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier did at UFC 210 when he weighed in for a title fight against Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. He shed his shorts and placed his hands on top of a towel being held in front of his privates, shedding an extra pound in the process.
Cormier got away with it. Tau did not, and neither did others trying the same thing.
For “DC,” missing weight would have resulted in him losing his title. For Tau, the standard punishment for missing weight is 30% of your purse and no chance to win any bonuses — that includes the new $25,000 finishing bonus as well.
Now Tau faces an uncertain future. His fight against Batbayar has been cancelled, messing up the finals of Road To UFC. Will he face further sanctions from the Australian commission? Will the UFC keep him around? It’s unclear. Don’t cheat like this, kids!
