Flyweight Aaron Tau was set to face Namsrai Batbayar in the Road to UFC finals, which were also scheduled to serve as a preliminary bout at Saturday’s event in Sydney. Tau, who has not yet officially signed with the UFC, attempted to make weight by leaning on the privacy curtain used during weigh-ins—an old veteran’s trick associated with Cormier, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The move backfired. Tau placed too much weight on the curtain, taking pressure off the scale and initially registering well under the limit. When officials ordered a second attempt, he weighed in significantly over the allowed limit, leading to the cancellation of the fight.
Because UFC 325 takes place in Sydney, official weigh-ins were held on Friday morning local time. Headliners Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes successfully made weight early. With about 25 minutes remaining, Tau was the only fighter left to step on the scale.
The little-known flyweight, who holds an 11–1 professional record with his only loss coming on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024, appeared at first to have made weight using the curtain. Officials, however, intervened after noticing irregularities.
Cormier famously used a similar method in 2017 ahead of his second light-heavyweight title defence against Anthony Johnson, after dropping down from heavyweight. Unlike that instance, Tau’s attempt did not succeed, costing him his place on the UFC 325 card.
