The UFC has cut ties with Aaron Tau after a controversial weigh-in episode saw his debut fight in the promotion cancelled at short notice.
New Zealand fighter Tau, 32, was set to fight Namsrai Batbayar in the prelims of UFC 325 in Sydney for what was his second chance in mixed martial arts’ flagship company, having suffered a decision loss in a September 2024 bout against Elijah Smith in Dana White’s Contender Series.
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However, Tau’s fight was quickly wiped from the card after the Kiwi appeared to cheat the scales during the weigh-in.
His initial weight of 122.5lbs – a hefty 2.5lbs below the flyweight limit – was met with confusion due to the presence of the curtain, which goes up when a fighter takes to the scales naked, usually indicating a particularly tight weigh-in.
He registered this weight by adopting a trick infamously used by Daniel Cormier ahead of a light-heavyweight title defence in 2017, leaning on the curtain to take a considerable amount of pressure off his elbows.
This was noticed by UFC panelists Chris Weidman and RJ Clifford, who questioned if the fighter – flexing while on the scales behind the curtain – was touching the sides with his elbows.
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And after raising more eyebrows by coming in significantly underweight, Tau was forced by the commission to weigh in again, which revealed his true weight as 129lbs – 3lbs over the flyweight limit.
In the fallout, it quickly emerged that Tau’s bout with Batbayar had been scrapped entirely and the UFC has now gone as far as to cut “Tauzemup” from their roster, news which was first reported by MMA Ecosystem.
Tau had gained attention ahead of his fight due to his distinguishing face tattoo which relates to his Maori background.
He has a professional record of 11-1, emerging victorious in his last two fights at Road to UFC events, a tournament which took top MMA prospects from Asia and provided them with a pathway to the UFC.
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The flyweight’s meeting with Batbayar was billed as the Road to UFC final but did not go ahead due to Tau’s catastrophic blunder.
