Ketlen Souza Misses Weight by a Full Pound Ahead of UFC Vegas 122

Ketlen Souza just made the hardest part of fight week a little more complicated. The UFC fighter stepped onto the scale for UFC Vegas 122 and officially missed weight, clocking in at 117 pounds.

MMA reporter Adam Martin broke the news on Friday. For a standard non-title bout at this weight class, the absolute limit with the one-pound grace period is 116 pounds. Souza missed that mark by a full pound.

"Ketlen Souza missed weight. 117 lbs. #UFCVegas122"

A single pound might not sound like much to a normal person deciding whether to eat a second slice of pizza. But in the fight game, missing by a pound means your body essentially shut down the weight cut and refused to sweat out another drop.

Because the UFC keeps the exact details of these negotiations behind closed doors until the ink is dry, we do not know the exact financial penalty yet. Usually, a fighter who misses weight has to hand over 20 to 30 percent of their fight purse directly to their opponent just to keep the bout on the card.

This is the kind of news that sends the betting markets into an immediate scramble. A fighter missing weight often signals a brutal, draining cut that leaves them compromised, though occasionally it just means they stopped trying and will enter the cage with a size advantage.

Assuming her opponent accepts the catchweight bout and takes the free paycheck bump, the fight will go on. But Souza now has to step into the Octagon knowing she already took a loss on the scale before a single punch was thrown.