New York Commission changes weigh-in rules following Daniel Cormier towel incident
The New York State Athletic Commission has made a change to the rules surrounding weigh-ins for mixed martial arts following an incident at UFC 210 in Buffalo involving light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
The day before the event, Cormier stepped on the scale and came in over the weight limit for his title fight against Anthony "Rumble" Johnson. While New York rules state that fighters have an additional two hours to weigh-in for a championship fight, Cormier stepped off the scale and returned just a few moments later to make a second attempt.
This time, Cormier made weight but was seen with his hand on the towel that was covering him after he removed his clothes to step on the scale. Cormier argued that he was holding onto the towel so he didn't expose himself to the members of the media sitting directly in front of him while others believed that the slightest leverage used by putting a hand on the towel could have affected his ability to make weight.
Either way, the New York Commission has now changed the rules regarding weigh-ins as first reported by Newsday and athletes will no longer be able to touch anything while standing on the scale to weigh-in.
The new rule amendment is below:
"When on the scale, the combatant shall stand still with his or her feet flat upon the scale and shall not make physical contact with any person or object other than the scale. No other person shall touch the scale when a combatant is in the act of weighing in. While on the scale, the combatant shall follow any direction issued by the Commission."
At the time, the New York Commission didn't have much objection to Cormier touching the towel as he stepped onto the scale, but clearly, they've decided to react with this new rule in place.
After making weight on the second try, Cormier went on to defend his title the next night with a second round submission over Johnson.
The next time Cormier will hit the scales will be in July when he squares off with longtime rival Jon Jones at UFC 214 in Anaheim, Calif.
