Julio Arce Discusses Bizarre Weight Miss Leading Up to UFC Atlantic City Victory

Julio Arce had a lot of pressure to deliver going into his UFC Atlantic City bout against Herbert Burns, and deliver he did.

Arce scored a second-round KO win over Burns in his first bout since November 2022. Arce’s return was delayed when he was forced out of a UFC 285 booking against Cody Garbrandt in January 2023 due to an ACL tear that required surgery.

With the undeniable jitters of coming back from an injury already in his mind, Arce also had a bizarre weight miss. Arce initially weighed in at 147 pounds, a pound over the non-title featherweight limit, and was given an hour to shed the extra weight. While Arce claims to have tried his best to sweat it out, he miraculously gained half a pound the second time he weighed in. However, Arce doesn’t want to make any excuses about the odd weight miss and vows to make weight in future.

“I got on the scale, it said 147, we had an hour,” Arce said during a post-fight media scrum. “Because I know like here I guess they cut it now, so it’s from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Checked on scales, 147, they gave me an hour, I came back and then when I came back they said I was heavier. I mean, we were sweating and we were doing… But regardless no excuse. I missed weight and it’s unprofessional of me. And I’m gonna correct that, adjust it. I’m not gonna really make any excuses for it. I come back, we do it better and then we take a run at 145.”

Since starting his UFC journey in 2018 with back-to-back wins, Arce’s career graph has consistently gone up and down. Added to the pressure of the weight miss was the fact that the Burns booking was the last fight on Arce’s UFC contract. And Arce was glad to have delivered an emphatic win, which he believes was imperative.

“You know it always messes with your head when you make that one mistake,” he said. “Especially when it comes to the weight cut because you’re like, ‘Damn.’ That gets to your mind, like, ‘I didn’t make weight.’ But to me I’m like, look this was the last fight on my contract and want to keep going. I want to take a run at this because I know I got what it takes and guess what, I’m like, ‘Go out there and show out. Leave it all in there, that’s it.’ And what a better way to do it than to get a finish, second round.”

Arce revealed that he drew inspiration from his father’s battle with Stage 4 cancer heading into UFC Atlantic City.

“I don’t really mention this to anybody, but I know people are going through a lot [of] tough times. You know my dad is fighting Stage 4 cancer and it’s not easy. Told my coaches that… using it as my fire and I know if he’s fighting that fight, I got to win this fight. Because that’s not easy. And to anybody out there who is going through a tough time, stand your ground, keep going, don’t give up, keep your head up and just fight on, fight on. That’s it.”