Sometimes you only get one shot.
It sounds like commentary inspired by Eminem’s iconic Lose Yourself, but it’s actually true. Welterweight Christopher Ewert found this out the hard way.
Ewert was supposed to step in to face Jackson McVey on the UFC 317 undercard. However, Ewert weighed in 10 pounds over the 170-pound limit. The massive weight miss led to the promotion dropping him immediately.
UFC CEO Dana White and his leadership group aren’t going to tolerate things like this from a fighter making their promotional debut—unless they’ve already built up a name, a reputation, and a rabid fanbase that travels well.
That’s not the case with Ewert. He has been impressive during his career. He’s a perfect 7-0, most recently having won back-to-back fights with Fury FC. Still, it’s likely the UFC wasn’t overjoyed with Ewert’s weight miss resulting in yet another fight being pulled from the International Fight Week show.
The damage here is twofold. Not only did Ewert lose what could’ve been a life-changing opportunity, but he also disrupted McVey’s momentum. McVey is also an undefeated prospect who has proven to be a KO artist. He was originally supposed to face Sedriques Dumas, but the latter was forced to pull out because he was unable to get authorities to remove an ankle monitor in time to participate in fight week activities.
Ewert was the replacement fighter. He was pulled from a planned fight on the upcoming season of Dana White’s Contender Series to fight McVey.
Fans may be losers in this one too. McVey has star potential. The 6-foot-4 26-year-old has a 100 percent finish rate with knockouts in every professional fight. UFC fans will have to wait to see him in the Octagon.
It’s possible Ewert could still land on DWCS, but the huge weight miss is a bad look for his first UFC event. For what it’s worth, Ewert’s camp says they tried to hard to make the weight, but couldn’t get over the finish line.
As it is, here is a look at the UFC 317 card set for T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 28.
UFC Fight Card
Main Card
- Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira – UFC Lightweight Championship Bout (155 lbs)
- (c) Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France – UFC Flyweight Championship (125 lbs)
- Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van – Flyweight Bout (125 lbs)
- Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano – Lightweight Bout (155 lbs)
- Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima – Bantamweight Bout (135 lbs)
Prelims
- Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues – Middleweight Bout (185 lbs)
- Hyder Amil vs. Jose Delgado – Featherweight Bout (145 lbs)
- Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez – Flyweight Bout (125 lbs)
- Terrance McKinney vs. Viacheslav Borshchev – Lightweight Bout (155 lbs)
- Niko Price vs. Jacobe Smith – Welterweight Bout (170 lbs)
- Jhonata Diniz vs. Alvin Hines – Heavyweight Bout (265 lbs)
Be on the lookout for post-event coverage as Topuria and Oliveira have an opportunity to add another layer to their Hall-of-Fame resumes. It’s a top-heavy show, but we’re for it.
