"The math favors the criminal" - Justin Gaethje wants major rule change after two fined fighters win at UFC 323

Justin Gaethje recently called for a major change in the way the UFC deals with fighters who miss weight.

Per UFC rules, fighters who miss weight are usually fined around 20% to 30% of their pay and are ineligible to win performance bonuses if the bout proceeds at a negotiated catchweight. However, many believe that allowing fighters to compete despite missing weight gives them an unfair advantage in the cage.

Bruno Ferreira, who missed weight for his middleweight fight against Marvin Vettori, secured a statement unanimous decision victory at UFC 323 and delivered the Italian-born fighter his fourth consecutive loss. Similarly, Mairon Santos secured a third-round TKO win over Muhammad Naimov after missing weight for their featherweight contest.

In a recent X post, Gaethje expressed his frustration with the two fighters who failed to make weight but won their bouts at UFC 323, and called for harsher punishments:

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"This 20% BS gotta change. Clearly not big enough of a deterrent. 50% or not fight. The math favors the criminal. #ufc323."

When Justin Gaethje slammed Charles Oliveira for missing weight before their title fight at UFC 274

At UFC 274 in May 2022, Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje were booked to throw down in a lightweight title fight. At the official weigh-ins, the Brazilian tipped the scales half a pound overweight and became the first UFC champion to be stripped of their title due to missing weight.

In the aftermath, Gaethje was unhappy about Oliveira's weight miss and expressed his frustration during the on-stage interview, saying:

"Same mission. That sh*t doesn’t matter. It’s not going to affect one thing tomorrow night. I’m here to knock him out. I was here to knock him out before he didn’t make weight. I f*****g think it’s ridiculous, but here I am. I’m going to knock his a** out. I promise you." [H/T: MMA Fighting]

Gaethje ultimately lost the fight via first-round submission, and the lightweight title was left vacant. Makhachev later claimed the title after defeating Oliveira via second-round submission at UFC 280 in October 2022.