The instinct to compete under unideal circumstances is apparently a family trait after [autotag]Aline Pereira[/autotag] agreed to push forward with Friday’s Karate Combat 50 fight despite some weigh-in antics from her opponent.
Pereira, who is the younger sister of UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, will now fight [autotag]Dee Begley[/autotag] at a 134-pound catchweight after the bout was originally scheduled for 125 pounds.
Prior to official weigh-ins on Friday in Salt Lake City, which hosts the UFC Fight Pass-streamed event at Salt Palace Convention Center, Begley’s team requested the bout be shifted to a 130-pound catchweight. Pereira’s team agreed, but when Begley stepped on the scale, she registered four pounds over the catchweight limit.
Some drama unfolded in the weigh-in room, with Begley and her team engaging in a small argument with Pereira’s coach, Plinio Cruz.
Ultimately a decision was made for the fight to proceed, with Begley getting a 40 percent fine of her purse.
Karate Combat president Asim Zaidi said after the weigh-in session that Begley’s future with Karate Combat will be reassessed as a result.
“It’s not a professional thing to do,” Zaidi said. This can’t happen at Karate Combat. If we’re a professional league. If we’re trying to advertise ourselves as one of the greatest combat sports leagues in the sport, one of the greatest striking leagues in the world, we can’t accept people missing weight like this. I don’t know if we’re going to see Dee Begley come back. … This is a bit much.”
Watch the video above for behind-the-scenes footage of how everything went down at Karate Combat 50 weigh-ins.