The distressing incident occurred ahead of her planned fight with Julia Avila at UFC Vegas 22 on Saturday
UFC fighter Julija Stoliarenko fainted on Friday during her weigh-in ahead of her UFC Vegas 22 bout at the weekend.
After fainting the first time, Stoliarenko sat down on a chair for a couple of minutes to regain herself, but then fainted again after she stepped on the scales.
The Lithuanian fighter, who competes in the Bantamweight division, was taken out on a stretcher, and her fight as part of UFC Vegas 22 has now been cancelled.
UFC fighter Julija Stoliarenko fainted on the scale moments ago during the weigh-ins. She was transported on a stretcher afterwards. No official word yet on her condition. pic.twitter.com/QnA4ofeq6L
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 19, 2021
Some on Twitter have called the scenes ‘tough to watch,’ and ‘scary,’ and whilst no explanation or cause has yet been given for the incident, many are raising questions and concerns about the issue of weight-cutting.
Weight-cutting is a process by which a fighter will starve and dehydrate themselves before a weigh-in so that they can compete at the lowest weight class possible. They will then completely rehydrate themselves to a weight that will often give them a size, weight and strength advantage over their opponent.
There is, however, no indication at this point that cutting was the cause of Stoliarenko fainting.
They're taking Julija Stoliarenko off on a stretcher. #UFCVegas22
These serious weight cuts are no joke. I'd love to see fighters fight at what they walk at. They'd still be fighting the same people. Just without the dehydration.— Zee (@ZeesMMA) March 19, 2021
The bout between Julia Avila and Julija Stoliarenko is off tomorrow’s #UFCVegas22 card.
Stoliarenko fainted on the scales, very tough to watch. Something really need to be done about fighters killing themselves to make weight.
— Lewis Simpson (@LewisSimpsonMMA) March 19, 2021
Julia Avila, who was meant to be taking on Stoliarenko, has taken taken to Instagram to wish her would-be opponent well. She said: “Unfortunately, my fight has been cancelled. My opponent fainted twice on the scales.
“I hope nothing but a speedy recovery for @julija.stoliarenko and prayers for her. Maybe we can meet up at a future date.”
UFC Vegas 22 is due to take place on 20 March, with the middleweight bout between fellow Americans Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland serving as the main event.
