Christopher Ewert was released from the UFC for missing weight by 10 pounds for a short notice fight but will still compete on The Contender Series on August 19 against Yuri Panferov.
Christopher Ewert experienced both a dream and a nightmare in just a few days. He signed for a short-notice fight at UFC 317 but was cut from the promotion before competing. Why? He missed weight for his matchup against Jackson McVay by a whopping 10 pounds.
Just before the official weigh-ins, it was announced that Ewert couldn’t make the contracted weight. Boom, he was immediately released. Originally, he was set to compete on The Contender Series in August. But this weight-cutting fiasco seemed to snatch that chance away too.
Thankfully, not all was lost. Ewert got some good news after UFC 317. The 31-year-old Chilean fighter will still get his shot on The Contender Series. His fight is booked for Aug. 19 against Yuri Panferov.
Sources confirmed this to MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, following an initial report from ESPN’s Carlos Contreras Legaspi. Competing on The Contender Series doesn’t guarantee a UFC debut, but hey, it’s a chance to fix last weekend’s blunder.
Ewert’s coach, Javier Torres, shared that they tried desperately to hit the middleweight limit. Even with their best efforts, Ewert fell short, leading to his release. “We did try super f*cking hard,” Torres said. “We cut 22 pounds from Wednesday to Friday morning.”
The new season of Dana White’s Contender Series kicks off on Aug. 12. Ewert gets his chance to impress UFC officials on Aug. 19. Fingers crossed!