The first official UFC weigh-in of 2026 delivered plenty of drama before a single punch was thrown.
Friday’s UFC 324 weigh-ins took a frightening turn when bantamweight Cameron Smotherman collapsed moments after stepping off the scale. Smotherman successfully hit the mark at 135.5 pounds, but as he attempted to exit the stage, he suddenly lost consciousness and fell face-first to the floor.
Medical personnel immediately attended to Smotherman, who was later transported to a nearby hospital for precautionary evaluation. According to UFC officials, he is now being discharged and is expected to recover. Despite his opponent Ricky Turcios also making weight at 136 pounds, the UFC announced roughly 30 minutes later that the bout had been cancelled due to health concerns stemming from Smotherman’s fall.
The fight was originally scheduled for the early portion of Saturday night’s preliminary card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
UFC 324 is headlined by a high-stakes interim lightweight title clash between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett, with undisputed champion Ilia Topuria currently taking time away from competition. For the title fight to be official, both Gaethje and Pimblett needed to come in at or under 155 pounds, while non-title fighters were allowed a one-pound allowance.
Pimblett was the first fighter to step on the scale and weighed in at 154 pounds, comfortably under the limit. Gaethje followed later as the final fighter of the session, hitting the championship limit right on the mark at 155 pounds.
The weigh-ins also featured a pair of notable misses from seasoned veterans. Former two-time flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo came in heavy at 138.5 pounds for his bantamweight matchup against Umar Nurmagomedov, who successfully weighed 136 pounds. This marked Figueiredo’s second weight miss in the UFC, though it was his first since moving up to the bantamweight division.
Alex Perez also failed to make weight, tipping the scales at 128.5 pounds ahead of his flyweight bout with Charles Johnson, who came in at 126 pounds. While Perez struggled with weight earlier in his professional career, this was just the second miss during his UFC run.
Both Figueiredo and Perez were fined 25 percent of their purses for missing weight, but their respective fights will proceed at catchweights.
Official UFC 324 Weigh-In Results
Main Card
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Justin Gaethje (155) vs. Paddy Pimblett (154)
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Sean O'Malley (135.5) vs. Song Yadong (136)
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Waldo Cortes-Acosta (262) vs. Derrick Lewis (263.5)
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Natalia Silva (126) vs. Rose Namajunas (125.5)
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Arnold Allen (145.5) vs. Jean Silva (146)
Preliminary Card
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Umar Nurmagomedov (136) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (138.5)*
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Ateba Gautier (186) vs. Andrey Pulyaev (186)
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Nikita Krylov (205.5) vs. Modestas Bukauskas (204)
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Alex Perez (128.5)* vs. Charles Johnson (126)
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Michael Johnson (156) vs. Alexander Hernandez (155.5)
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Josh Hokit (234.5) vs. Denzel Freeman (257.5)
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Ricky Turcios (136) vs. Cameron Smotherman (135.5)**
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Adam Fugitt (171) vs. Ty Miller (170)
* Fighter missed weight; fined 25 percent of purse
** Fight cancelled due to health concerns following Smotherman’s collapse
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