UFC, California State Athletic Commission shift weight class on UFC-Fresno bout

FRESNO, Calif. – Working in collaboration, UFC and California State Athletic Commission officials have elected to preemptively shift weight classes for one UFC-Fresno booking.

MMAjunkie today learned that a planned flyweight contest between Carls John de Tomas (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Alex Perez (18-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will instead be contested as a bantamweight affair at UFC Fight Night 123.

UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky today confirmed the switch.

“It was a collaborative effort, as it always has been with the California commission,” Novitzky told MMAjunkie. “They are definitely on top of this issue more than any other commission, and we all felt this was in the best interest of the athletes.”

Earlier this year, the CSAC approved a 10-point plan designed to take aim at extreme weight-cutting. Included among those recommendations was a plan to monitor fighters’ weights ahead of fight week and into their cut to identify athletes who might be taking unnecessary risks by attempting to make weight.

This week, it was de Tomas, who actually missed weight in his UFC debut this past June by registering 131 pounds ahead of a scheduled flyweight contest at UFC Fight Night 111.

Novitzky declined to reveal de Tomas’ exact weight at the time of the decision but said both he and CSAC officials believe it was best to seek an alternate plan, and opponent Perez signed off on the switch.

“Based on the progression of his weight leading up to this week, (CSAC Executive Director) Andy Foster expressed some concerns, and we came together to make this decision,” Novitzky said.

Foster wasn’t immediately available for comment when contacted by MMAjunkie.

UFC Fight Night 123 takes place Saturday at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., and it airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

For more on UFC Fight Night 123, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.