Anthony Pettis misses weight; only Max Holloway eligible for title in UFC 206 headliner

TORONTO – Anthony Pettis had said his second weight cut to featherweight was going to be easier than his first. However, that clearly wasn’t the case.

During today’s early and official weigh-ins, “Showtime” missed weight for Saturday’s UFC 206 main event, which has cost him a shot at the belt.

Pettis (19-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) was slated to fight Max Holloway (16-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) for the interim UFC featherweight title in UFC 206’s pay-per-view headliner, but the former lightweight champion came in over the 145-pound limit for the fight, which takes place at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.

The bout will go on, but Pettis won’t be able to win the belt even if he’s victorious. Instead, only Holloway, who weighed in exactly at the 145-pound limit, is eligible for the title.

Additionally, Pettis has been fined 20 percent of his purse, which goes to Holloway. UFC President Dana White confirmed the plans with ESPN.com, though an official announcement wasn’t made to reporters following the weigh-in ceremony.

Holloway is No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, and Holloway is No. 9. They were booked for the title fight – a dubious one – after lightweight champion Conor McGregor was recently stripped of the featherweight belt and after interim titleholder Jose Aldo was promoted to undisputed titleholder.

Pettis had lost three straight bouts, which included a lightweight title defeat to Rafael dos Anjos and subsequent losses to Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza, before opting for a move down to featherweight. In that August bout, for which he weighed in at 146 pounds, Pettis submitted Charles Oliveira.

For more on UFC 206, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.