CSAC recommends Alex Perez, Brett Johns move up in weight after UFC 227

A pair of UFC 227 fighters are being targeted by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) with regards to weight-cutting rules.

CSAC is recommending that Alex Perez and Brett Johns move up in weight following their UFC 227 fights last weekend in Los Angeles, because both came in well over CSAC regulations in a fight-day weight check, CSAC executive officer Andy Foster told MMA Fighting on Tuesday.

A note will be added to the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) database about the recommendation. Perez and Johns will have to move to bantamweight and featherweight, respectively, unless cleared by a doctor to compete in their current divisions. Commissions other than California have honored CSAC’s recommendations thus far, only allowing fighters to compete in the lower weight class after physician clearance.

Alex Perez gained 16.3 percent of his weight back from weigh-in day to fight day, going from 126 to 146.5 pounds. Johns went from 135.2 pounds on Friday to 158 pounds Saturday — an increase of 16.2 percent. Perez and Johns had the highest percentage weight gains on a card that saw all but six fighters come in over CSAC regulations (10 percent).

Foster said the other 16 fighters that gained 10 percent or more back after weigh-ins were not asked to move up, because they were close enough to 10 percent to be given the benefit of the doubt. Foster said fighters are weighed when they get to the arena, not first thing in the morning, so they could be heavier due to extra, pre-competition hydration.

Perez’s manager Jason House told MMA Fighting that Perez already has doctor clearance to fight at flyweight and he plans on continuing his UFC career in that weight class. Johns did not respond to a request for comment from MMA Fighting.

This isn’t Perez’s first time dealing with CSAC and its weight rules. His fight last December at UFC Fresno against Carls John de Tomas was moved up from flyweight to bantamweight on the week of the fight because de Tomas was so far out from making weight and Perez was also over that 10-percent mark.