UFC Fight Night: Kattar versus Emmett weigh ins were pretty smooth. Most of the card made weight without a snag.
However, bantamweight Tony Kelley was the only fighter in the event who failed to make weight. He came in in 1.5 pounds above the limit. According to the UFC, Kelly would forfeit 20% of his pay if his fight with Adrian Yanez goes forward.
Kelley’s prelim bout with now effectively be a catchweight match. Yanez weighed in at 135.5 pounds, falling under the pound allowance for non-title bouts.
Tony Kelley previously made news when he made disparaging remarks about Brazil while cornering Andrea Lee. Kelley has defended his remarks and apologized for them.
Tony Kelley angered MMA fighters and viewers at home last month when he made the following remarks:
“That’s what they’re going to do – they’re dirty f*cking Brazilians.” Kelley said.
Toney Kelley was recently interviewed by Cageside Press. The 35-year-old explained some of his previous remarks on Brazilians. Kelley expressed regret for his remarks, but he did not deny that he despises Brazilians. In fact, he despises everyone.
“I have nothing against Brazilians, I have nothing against anyone. Actually, I dislike everyone equally, I’ll put it that way.”
“So I think pretty much I’ve answered all that, much love to my Brazilian fans and friends. If you don’t like what I said, I don’t know what to tell you on that, sorry. Sorry if you got your feelings hurt.” Kelley said.
Since joining the UFC in August 2020, Toney Kelley has a 2-1 record. Kelley was initially scheduled to fight Adrian Yanez at bantamweight on Saturday.
Prior to Lee incident, Kelley’s brush with fame when he opted to drive cross country to a UFC event in order to avoid taking a flight due to his reluctance to wear a mask.
On the UFC weigh-in show for UFC 269, Lauro Sanko mentioned Tony Kelley drove from Louisiana to Las Vegas for the card. Apparently he did not fly because he did not want to deal with wearing a mask.
Tonight’s card will be headlined by Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmet. Kattar is a likely future title contender if he pulls off a convincing victory. Previously he battered Giga Chikadtze but lost to Holloway.