Hold up. Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. Dana White didn’t just blast Kelvin Gastelum with, “I’m not thrilled with Kelvin Gastelum right now.” nor did he roll his eyes at the fact that, “This guy has missed weight like three times in his career. It’s extremely disappointing.” Don’t start painting Gastelum as public enemy number one on the UFC’s weigh-in debacle list. Because guess what? There’s a fresh contender for the weigh-in disappointment title.
His name is Ronaldo ‘Lazy Boy’ Rodriguez. Just hours left for UFC on ESPN 64, Rodriguez stepped on the scale, at 127 pounds. One pound over the flyweight limit. One pound, seems insignificant, right? Wrong. In a sport where cutting weight is a ruthless science, that one pound translates to a costly 20% deduction from his fight purse (as reported by Danny Segura from MMA Junkie). A little extra cheeseburger tax, if you will. The fight will go on at a catchweight of 127 pounds. But make no mistake, the Mexican is stepping into the octagon lighter in the wallet.
“Lazy Boy” Ronaldo Rodriguez misses weight by a pound: 127 pounds for flyweight vs. Kevin Borjas #UFCMexico
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) March 28, 2025
Now, before we dive into how this slip-up could affect his career, let’s put this into perspective. The UFC Mexico card has been buzzing with excitement, largely thanks to names like former champion Brandon Moreno and recent title challenger Steve Erceg successfully hitting their weight at 125 pounds. While they cruised through the weigh-in process, Rodriguez found himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The ‘Lazy Boy’ nickname isn’t doing him any favors at the moment.
Interestingly enough, Rodriguez wasn’t the only one fumbling at the scale. In a dramatic turn of events, another UFC star had to weight in twice to keep his original purse intact!
Did Dana White have to overlook multiple hiccups?
Austin Hubbard’s situation was a rollercoaster. He initially weighed in at 157 pounds. Again one pound over the lightweight limit for his scheduled fight against MarQuel Mederos. But Hubbard insisted that he had already made weight on a backstage scale. Cue UFC Senior VP of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner, who stepped in and demanded a re-weigh. This time with the box around. After some commission drama, the official scale was brought in, and Hubbard suddenly made weight at 156 pounds. Crisis averted, but not without raising a few eyebrows.
White is not a fan of these situations, and Gastelum’s consistent issues are proof of it. So, Kevin Gastelum gets dragged through the mud for his weigh-in sins, but Rodriguez and Hubbard get a pass? The difference? Gastelum’s weight issues have haunted him for years, while Rodriguez is at the start of what was supposed to be a promising UFC climb. And for Hubbard, well, let’s just say getting an extra shot at the scale worked in his favor this time.
For Rodriguez, the stakes are high. He’s still on the main card, still has the chance to put on a show in Arena CDMX, and still has fans hoping he delivers. But a loss here? That’s a different story. Missing weight is already a bad look, but losing after missing weight? That’s the kind of double whammy that derails momentum. Meanwhile, Kevin Borjas is walking in with an extra 20% in his pocket and all the motivation in the world to make Rodriguez regret those extra ounces.
Dana White might not have gone full-on meltdown mode over Rodriguez just yet, but don’t think he isn’t watching. The UFC head honcho has a long memory. And missing weight is a one-way ticket to earning the unreliable tag. So, What do you think? Will ‘Lazy Boy’ redeem himself with a show-stopping performance? Or will this weigh-in blunder be the start of a slow fade into obscurity? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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