THACKERVILLE, Okla. – Christian Edwards’ highly anticipated pro MMA debut is going to have to wait – through no fault of his own.
Edwards (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was supposed to fight Roman Huerta (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a light heavyweight bout on the Bellator 218 preliminary card Friday. At the official weigh-ins earlier today, Edwards came in well below the light heavyweight limit at 203.1 pounds.
But Huerta never made it to the official scale. According to Edwards in an Instagram post, Huerta was 227 on the test scale. And while a Bellator official did not confirm Huerta’s precise weight to MMA Junkie, he said he was overweight by more than 20 pounds.
Commission rules for Friday’s card would have required Huerta to be within five pounds of Edwards’ weight – meaning it could have maxed out around 208 pounds for the fight to stay on the card. Or, barring that, Edwards could have found a way to gain a few more pounds – but not all the way up to the reported 227. So by just about any standard, Huerta’s weight miss was a massive one.
And Edwards let his opponent have it on Instagram in a big way.
“Well I have some bad news,” Edwards posted. “My fat, piece of shit, opponent didn’t make weight. He was at 227!!! Wtf!!! So they cancelled my fucking fight. I’m so sorry to everyone who bought tickets to come watch me crush this scrub, but it is what it is I guess. I was so fucking excited about fighting in my home state. I’ll be back Oklahoma. I promise. Thank you everyone.”
Bellator 218 takes place Friday at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Edwards is a highly touted 20-year-old who trains at JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., and counts UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones among his training partners. He has drawn comparisons to Jones already, even though he hasn’t had a pro fight yet – and now will have to wait a while longer before making his debut.
A Bellator official told MMA Junkie Edwards will be paid his show money for the fight.
For more on Bellator 218, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
