Muay Thai superstar Liam Harrison has slammed ONE Championship after a fiasco on the scales forced him to withdraw from his ONE 167 fight.
If you have followed either ONE Championship or Muay Thai specifically over the past several years, you’ll know that featherweight Liam ‘Hitman’ Harrison is as straight-talking and professional as almost any fighter can be.
Yet the fan-favorite British 145lb-er has been forced to withdraw from his enormous return fight tonight under the clouds of controversy, and his statement on the drama only leaves us with more questions.
Liam Harrison slams ONE Championship over fiasco on the scales
After almost two years out of action with injury, Liam Harrison was set to make his long-awaited return to the Muay Thai world at ONE 167, which will be available to stream this evening via Amazon Prime Video in the US.
However, controversy erupted when Harrison stepped on the scales over the featherweight limit on Thursday evening, despite having not only passed the hydration test without fault but also with approval from a ONE Championship rep that he was on weight just a few hours prior.
Harrison has now released both a statement and reaction video online explaining the situation, and it certainly doesn’t read well for either the promotion or the ONE Championship representative who had been working with the popular star.
“This is a deeply disappointing and frustrating experience for me,” said Harrison, before diving into his side of the story as to how he made, then missed weight so quickly.
“On the day of the weigh-in, we asked the official ONE representative to check my weight on the official scales. I weighed in at 143 lbs and was advised to drink some water as I was under. I drank less than 500 ml of water.
“During the official weigh-in, after passing the hydration test, the same scales indicated I was 146 lbs (1 lb over the agreed weight of 145 lbs). It is not possible to have put 3 lbs on from the weight check after consuming less than 500 ml of water and urinating.”
He added in a separate post, it’s “Literally physically impossible to put 3lbs on with that amount of water…especially when the OFFICAL WEIGHT CHECK OFFICIAL said your 2lbs under go have a drink.”
Harrison argued that there are only one of two reasons why the scales could have shown such a drastic change in weight, despite the British star only taking on a minor amount of water between the two checks.
“Human error during the initial weigh-in [or] Improper calibration of the scales during the weight check… This error does not lie with me or my team.”
‘Hitman’ described the situation as “humiliating” as he was forced to argue with said representative in front of thousands of people watching via an official livestream.
The featherweight claimed that he’s yet to receive either an apology from ONE Championship directly, or even an acknowledgment that a mistake could have been made by either the rep, or the scales – which forced him to take matters into his own hands.
Harrison confirms he’s withdrawing from the ONE 167 event
Unfortunately, yet equally understandably, a frustrated Harrison also confirmed that he has pulled out of his scheduled fight at ONE 167 against Japanese star Katsuki Kitano.
“At 38, I am not prepared to risk my health by attempting to make weight again under these circumstances, especially when I have done everything right,” he stated, before noting that the situation would have been entirely different, had the initial weigh-ins been conducted correctly.
“Agreeing to do so under these circumstances would imply that I accept the initial failure, which is not the case. The error was not on my part, and it is unreasonable to expect me to re-make weight given these facts.”
Harrison shared how due to the perceived notion of risk vs reward, it doesn’t make sense for him to step back into action after such a farse – especially since there is an even bigger fight against Saeksan Or Kwanmuang already confirmed for September.
“The potential for injury and the impact on my reputation outweigh the now diminished rewards… I hope this situation brings to light the importance of accurate and fair practices in our sport.”
“I remain committed to my training and look forward to getting back in the ring under fair conditions against Seksan in September,” he shared, before signing off by thanking his fans for their support in this frustrating time.
ONE 167 is still set to go ahead, albeit without Harrison, with the legendary Rodtang in support of the main event rematch between Nattawut and champion Tawanchai.