Johny Hendricks missed weight because of a faulty scale, says coach

Johny Hendricks showed up to the UFC 171 weigh ins Friday at 171.5 pounds — a pound and a half overweight for his welterweight title fight with Robbie Lawler. To ensure that Lawler wasn't the only one battling for the belt, Hendricks did what any fighter would do — he went back to his hotel and cut the weight.

Hendricks' conditioning coach, Mike Dolce, blamed the missed weight on a faulty scale that was apparently broken by members of a Dallas gym that Hendricks was training at.

Hendricks — who is normally around 200 pounds — was able to get down to 170, but already looked unwell during the initial weigh in. With sunken eyes, Hendricks struggled to keep his arms still while flexing on the scale. 

“He was shaking because he was at very low levels of body fat, [with] very low levels of water running through his system, and it was freezing cold in the venue," Dolce told MMA Junkie. "You've got to think, a man standing naked in front of 3,000 people, there’s nerves, there’s anxiety, and he just got done cutting weight. He had the lowest amount of body fat that he had in a year.

Dr. Johnny Benjamin, a nationally recognized surgeon known for his commentary on sporting injuries, blasted the UFC on Saturday, saying on Twitter that Hendricks should have been disqualified in the name of safety.

Less than 24 hours later, Dolce tweeted out a photo of Hendricks, who is noticeably heavier (and healthier) than at the weigh ins.