Paulo Costa is among six fighters from UFC 241 who’ve been given notice by the CSAC to move up a division.
mmajunkie.usatoday.com
Paulo Costa won’t be able to fight at 185 pounds in future California fights unless he gets cleared by the state’s athletic commission.
The undefeated UFC middleweight contender is among six fighters from this month’s UFC 241 card who’ve been given notice by the California State Athletic Commission to move up a division, according to a public records request made by MMA Junkie on Wednesday.
The other fighters include Sabina Mazo, Brandon Davis, Kyung Ho Kang, Manny Bermudez, and Sodiq Yusuff. The notices coincide with weight gains of 15 percent or more between UFC 241’s official weigh-ins and fight day, per the CSAC’s rules on weight-cutting.
As previously reported, 13 fighters on the Aug. 17 card gained more than 10 percent of their body weight in that window, which violates a series of regulations enacted to curb excessive weight cuts. Costa and Davis were rounded up from 14.9 and 14.7 percent, respectively.
All but one of the fighters made weight for their respective contests except Bermudez, who negotiated a catchweight fight against Casey Kenney at 140 pounds. But fighters who gain 15 percent automatically trigger a “notification letter” that states “they have been moved up a weight class in California,” per CSAC representative Patrisha Blackstock.
Costa and the other fighters can still compete in their chosen weight classes, Blackstock added. But they will need to prove they can fight safely.
