Charles Oliveira misses weight for UFC 274, will vacate lightweight title

PHOENIX - Charles Oliveira is no longer the UFC lightweight champion without even throwing a punch.

In a stunning turn of events Friday, Oliveira missed weight on his first and second attempts. As a result, he was forced to vacate the title entering his UFC 274 headliner against Justin Gaethje. If Oliveira wins, the belt will remain vacant. If Gaethje wins, he will be named champion.

Oliveira was among the final few fighters to step on the scale during the weigh-in window. He needed the curtain and registered a mark of 155.5 pounds. Per the Arizona commission rules, Oliveira was given one hour to cut the half pound in order to make the championship limit.

Oliveira took the full hour, returned to the scale with the curtain and again weighed in at 155.5.

Oliveira, who missed weight multiple times while competing as a featherweight, hadn't missed weight since returning to lightweight in April 2017. Just minutes before UFC 274 weigh-ins began, Oliveira tweeted that he was already on weight.

In addition to being stripped of his title, Oliveira (32-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) will also forfeit a percentage of his purse to Gaethje (23-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC), who hit the mark at 155. It's not known if Oliveira is still eligible to receive pay-per-view points now that he's no longer champion.

UFC 274, which takes place Saturday at Footprint Center, has a main card airing on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.