Nutritionist George Lockhart says Brazilian commission allowed Cris Cyborg to weigh-in slightly above 141

Much of the drama surrounding UFC Fight Night 95 focused not on whether Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino would defeat UFC newcomer Lina Lansberg, but instead whether the Invicta FC featherweight champion would be able to successfully make the UFC's mandated catchweight of 140 pounds.

Ultimately, Justino succeeded in her goal, cutting down from 165 pounds to the one-pound allowance of 141 in less than a week. However, video released by Justino's team in the days after official weigh-ins showed that Justino may have tipped the scales a few ounces above her 141-pound limit. And according to Justino's nutritionist, weight-cutting guru George Lockhart, that extra weight was permitted by the Brazilian athletic commission (CABMMA) charged with overseeing the proceedings in Brasilia, Brazil.

"From my understanding with the commission, that was allowed," Lockhart said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. "The God's honest truth, man, I'm going to get you down, like any fighter knows -- and you see fighters I work with, they're going to be 146 on the dot, they're going to be 156 on the dot. I'm not going to make you cut any more weight than is absolutely necessary. And that's exactly what we needed, so that's exactly what we got her down to."

When reached on Monday, a representative for CABMMA stated that "all athletes made weight, except Michel Prazeres 'Trator,' who was 2 pounds (lbs) over the limit of his division, as officially announced on September 23rd.

"Regarding Cris Cyborg, any variation/oscillation of the digital scale due to factors such as stage set, minor body movements, and clothing worn by the athlete, did not affect the reading and/or her limit to the determined catchweight," the CABMMA statement said, "therefore fulfilling her contractual agreement with promoter and commission's license for the bout. The same protocol was applied to all 26 athletes for that event, including her opponent, Lina Lansberg."

The one-pound allowance is typically regarded as the absolute limit a fighter can exceed and still make weight. For example, a welterweight fighter can weigh-in at 171 pounds and still be considered within the 170-pound limit. However, that same fighter would be considered overweight and subject to penalties if they tipped the scales any higher, like when Johny Hendricks weighed 171.25 at UFC 200 and missed weight by just .25 pounds. Hendricks ultimately forfeited 20-percent of his purse to his opponent, Kelvin Gastelum, for the few extra ounces.

Footage from a video blog released by Justino's team appeared to show the digital scale used at UFC Fight Night 95's official weigh-ins listing Justino several ounces above her 141-pound limit. Her weight was subsequently announced by CABMMA officials simply as 141 pounds.

"That was up to the commission, I believe, so I think you get a variable in there," Lockhart said. "And a lot of people don't know this, a lot of times when you step on the scale, a lot of the digital scales, especially in the U.S., it only goes by .5. So if you're, let's say, 171.2, it rounds down to 171. If you're 171.3, then it rounds up. So a lot of people don't know that, but again, I'm going to get you down to the damn gram (that you need to be at), so you don't have to sit in a bath longer than need be, so you don't have to work out any longer than you need to."

Justino defeated Lansberg via second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 95, extending her unbeaten streak to 18 straight fights. Afterward, Justino said that she would be willing to fight in the UFC again at 140 pounds, but only against a top-10 bantamweight opponent.