UFC fighter faints on scales during weigh-in

The distressing incident occurred ahead of her planned fight with Julia Avila at UFC Vegas 22 on Saturday

UFC fighter Julija Stoliarenko fainted on Friday during her weigh-in ahead of her UFC Vegas 22 bout at the weekend. After fainting the first time, Stoliarenko sat down on a chair for a couple of minutes to regain herself, but then fainted again after she stepped on the scales. The Lithuanian fighter, who competes in the Bantamweight division, was taken out on a stretcher, and her fight as part of UFC Vegas 22 has now been cancelled. https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/1372948459985240068 Some on Twitter have called the scenes 'tough to watch,' and 'scary,' and whilst no explanation or cause has yet been given for the incident, many are raising questions and concerns about the issue of weight-cutting. Weight-cutting is a process by which a fighter will starve and dehydrate themselves before a weigh-in so that they can compete at the lowest weight class possible. They will then completely rehydrate themselves to a weight that will often give them a size, weight and strength advantage over their opponent. There is, however, no indication at this point that cutting was the cause of Stoliarenko fainting. https://twitter.com/Rockstarzee/status/1372944620615766021 https://twitter.com/LGS_MMA/status/1372955668047626244 Julia Avila, who was meant to be taking on Stoliarenko, has taken taken to Instagram to wish her would-be opponent well. She said: "Unfortunately, my fight has been cancelled. My opponent fainted twice on the scales. "I hope nothing but a speedy recovery for @julija.stoliarenko and prayers for her. Maybe we can meet up at a future date." UFC Vegas 22 is due to take place on 20 March, with the middleweight bout between fellow Americans Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland serving as the main event.