Fans are calling for the release of a UFC Vegas 108 star, despite him staying undefeated with another decision win.
Rafael Estevam clearly has an issue getting down to the 126lb flyweight limit, but insists on persevering, only to lose out on a percentage of his purse when he misses. And this fight week was no different, as he defeated Felipe Bunes in a razor-close decision after a comical 4lb weight miss yesterday.
Estevam’s issues with making the weight have been clear since the beginning of his UFC tenure, after winning his way into the promotion on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022. He landed in the promotion after a victory on the same card as Bo Nickal, who also ended up in the octagon.
Rafael Estevam wins after yet another weight cut issue
When it comes to Rafael Estevam, there are conflicting schools of thought: On the one hand, you can’t cut an unbeaten powerhouse in a division as limited as 125lb. However, he also has a very serious issue with weight cutting that has arguably made his winning performances very unfair.
Tonight on the prelims of UFC Vegas 108, he looked solid over the three rounds and took his third decision victory since joining the promotion. He handed Brazilian veteran Bunes another defeat, but he now has as many weight cut disasters as he has had fights in the UFC.
His first issue came two years ago at UFC 288 in Newark when he wasn’t even allowed to weigh in for a fight with fan favorite Zhalgas Zhumagulov due to a botched cut. He proceeded to then miss by 2lb for his November debut against Charles Johnson, which he again won by decision.
In fact, the sole time he was able to make the weight under the UFC banner was his last win over Jesus Aguilar back in February. After 14 months out of action, he managed to tip the scales at 126lb, which is an allowance given to non-title fighters.
Fans want Rafael Estevam more severely punished for weight miss
Fans on social media were impressed by Estevam’s performance, but not so much by his ability to get to the scales. They believe that a sterner punishment is deserved to deter fighters from missing weight and going into the octagon with an advantage over their rival who struggled and made weight fairly.
His old opponent Johnson wrote on X: “Another boring estevam fight. Gassing out again, Missing weight egregiously again and sniffing jock straps Dude ain’t made weight in three years . No Respect.” One fan replied to this message by writing: “Hopefully that hugging p—- gets cut, f—ing sport killer.”
Under an official UFC post, one fan suggested: “When you miss weight like this you should never be allowed to fight at that weight again. Honestly they should surprise weigh fighters and make them fight within so many lbs of their actual weight.”
Another wrote: “This is a shame…so unprofessional. Estevam ALWAYS Weight Above Contracted Limit. They need to punish this kind of behavior.”