Christopher Ewert was released by the UFC before he even had the chance to weigh in for his scheduled fight at UFC 317. Ewert was set to compete against fellow newcomer Jackson McVey.
Just as the official weigh-ins for Friday were about to begin, commentator Jon Anik announced the cancellation of the middleweight bout. The reason given was weight issues on Ewert`s part, leading to his subsequent release from his UFC contract.
Following this news, Ewert`s coach, Javier Torres, provided insights into the difficult situation.
“People don’t understand how much we tried,” Torres stated. He explained that the weight cut began from 216 pounds, the same weight they were upon arriving in Las Vegas. By Friday morning, they had reached 195 pounds. The fighter received the call about the fight on Tuesday afternoon, leaving little time.
The travel itself presented challenges. Their flight from Phoenix, originally scheduled for 8:30 a.m., was delayed until 11:05 a.m., resulting in a 1 p.m. arrival in Vegas. After handling numerous media obligations, photoshoots, and other UFC-required activities, they had only a small window from 4-6 p.m. to perform a brief cutting session, which included a 30-minute run, pad work, mitts, sauna, and a `mummy` wrap.
Torres detailed the primary middleweight cutting process, which started between 6 and 7 p.m. local time on Thursday. They went through multiple rounds of procedures, managing to get Ewert down to 197.3 pounds around 1 a.m. However, about 90 minutes later, Ewert started experiencing minor cramps. Despite further efforts involving a bath and mummy wrap, his weight check showed only a minimal drop to 197 pounds.
Considering they accepted the fight on less than a week`s notice, Ewert and his team had hoped the contest could take place at a catchweight.
Torres mentioned they had communicated their desire for a 195-pound catchweight to their business partner since Tuesday.
Recounting a 4 a.m. conversation with Mick Maynard, identified as their business partner, Torres informed him of the situation, including Ewert`s cramps. Ewert was unable to sleep. They checked his weight again at 6:45 a.m. and resumed the cutting process at 7:15 a.m., including running and pads while wearing a sauna suit, sauna sessions, and mummy wraps in the sauna suit, continuing until 9:30 a.m.
“We did try super f*cking hard,” Torres concluded, stressing the intense effort. He noted they had cut 22 pounds between Wednesday and Friday morning.
