UFC president Dana White says the promotion plans to conduct fighter weigh-ins in the late afternoon instead of the morning on the day prior to competition.
Dating back to June 2016 for UFC 199, fighters had to step on the scales early in the day. The move was intended to give them enough time to rehydrate and recover from a tough cut. Instead, White believes, it has led to many fighters not reaching the limit, forcing matchups to be canceled.
"I do think it's that. And guess what? We're getting rid of it," White told Jim Norton and Matt Serra on "UFC Unfiltered."
"We're looking to take the weigh-ins back to the way they used to be, so when the guys weigh in there at the fight, that will be it. That will be the real weigh-in."
White added: "I believe that any time you change something, everybody looks to take as much advantage as they can of the situation. When we started doing morning weigh-ins it was very good. Everybody was making weight. Then people were cutting it closer and closer and closer, thinking they can put on more weight because they have more time to recover. The reality is, it f---ed everything up."
Many high-profile fighters have missed weight in recent months. This includes Darren Till two weeks ago in Liverpool, England; Mackenzie Dern ahead of UFC 224 in Brazil; and Yoel Romero before UFC 221 in Australia.
The new weigh-ins are expected to take place at 4 p.m.
"I don't know any fighters who are morning people," White says. "Most of them stay up half the night and sleep half the day. That may have something to do with the morning weigh-ins, too."
There is no set date on when the new time change will happen. White says the UFC will work with the state athletic commissions to finalize it.