Sijara Eubanks’ TUF 26 coach Eddie Alvarez was ‘not surprised’ to learn the inaugural flyweight title challenger had missed weight
According to Alvarez, he was more than aware of the trouble Eubanks had making weight throughout the season.
While expressing clear disappointment, Alvarez was also adamant that there are ‘no excuses’ for missing weight:
“Behind the scenes I kind of heard some fluttering, but (I’m) disappointed,” Alvarez told MMAjunkie. “Seriously disappointing. We never know the reasoning behind these kind of things. Personally I don’t think there’s an excuse for it. But I’m going to have to call to Vegas and see what’s going on.
“The first 27, 28 pounds are the easy ones,” Alvarez said. “It’s the last three-quarters of a pound, (one) pound left that kind of breaks your spirit. It’s sad because Sarj, she made weight three times in a series of like three weeks, which is an incredible feat. This is a world title, man. This is huge. That’s a huge disappointment.”
Alvarez’s opponent on the night, Justin Gaethje, also claimed that he was not exactly surprised when he heard the news:
“No (it doesn’t surprise me),” Gaethje said. “I had the very first pick on the very first fight, and Sarj weighed 155 pounds. My coaches wanted me to pick her, but if I did pick her she would not have made weight and she would not have even been in the discussion right now. I should have done it because she would have learned a hard lesson then instead of now on the biggest stage. She showed up 20 pounds over probably, or 20 to 25. Stupid.”
