Ray Borg says he'll easily make weight for UFC 215 title fight; Demetrious Johnson believes him

The biggest knock against UFC flyweight title contender Ray Borg the last two years is that he hasn’t always made weight, but he’s confident that won’t happen this week.

“I just turned 24,” Borg said during a recent conference call with reporters. “I never came from a superstar camp. A few of my weight-cuts were more of improper weight-cutting and honestly just lack of knowledge.”

That, Borg said, won’t be an issue for his UFC 215 pay-per-view headlining title fight against champion Demetrious Johnson (26-2-1 MMA, 14-1-1 UFC), which takes place this Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

In the last two years, Borg (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has four fights to his credit. For two of those fights he’s missed the 126-pound weight limit – and one time wasn’t even close.

In Aug. 2015 at UFC Fight Night 73, Borg came in at 126.7 pounds – just over the limit – for his unanimous-decision win over Geanne Herrera. Borg made weight for his next fight six months later, but again the issue arose last December for his UFC 207 bout with Louis Smolka. For that fight – a unanimous-decision win – Borg was embarrassingly overweight at 129.5, which garnered a lot of criticism.

Borg’s had enough trouble making it to 126. Now, heading into his first title shot against Johnson, the 1-pound allowance is gone. It’s 125 or bust for Borg, who says he’s overhauled his nutrition and will be ready for this fight.

“I’ve corrected my mistakes,” Borg said. “I’ve done what I’ve had to do to be up to that 125-pound limit, so I have no doubt in my mind that I’m going to make weight easily.”

There’s a lot at stake not just for Borg. If “The Tazmexican Devil” fails to live up to his word, it would mean he loses out on his title shot, which means Johnson wouldn’t be going for a UFC-record 11th consecutive title defense to surpass Anderson Silva.

For what it’s worth, Johnson has no concerns.

“Honestly, I’m not even worried about that,” Johnson said. “I’m sure he’ll do his job and make the weight class. … My job is to go out there and fight. I’m not even worried about that. I’m sure he’s going to make it.”

For more on UFC 215, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.