RIO DE JANEIRO – Anthony Johnson today grossly missed the middleweight mark required for his co-main event bout with Vitor Belfort at UFC 142.

Prior to the start of weigh-ins, UFC president Dana White said Johnson would "badly" miss weight.

Moments later, when he officially weighed 197 pounds, officials announced Johnson has been fined 20 percent of his "show" money (which goes to Belfort), and after rehydrating, he can weigh no more than 205 pounds on fight day.

Today's official weigh-ins took place today at HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, the same venue that hosts Saturday's pay-per-view event and Johnson vs. Belfort co-headliner. They aired on FUEL TV and streamed online.

Belfort (20-9 MMA, 9-4 UFC), who weighed in at 186 pounds, stipulated he'll only take the fight if Johnson (10-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is no heavier than 205 pounds for the bout.

It's a shocking turn for Johnson, whose repeated issues making the 170-pound limit required of welterweights prompted calls he move up in weight. UFC 142 is his first fight at middleweight, though today's gaffe marks the third time he has missed weight during his UFC career.

More.

Johnson was fined a portion of his purse for missing weight by five pounds prior to a fight with Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104. He was reportedly so weak that he had to be carried to and from the weigh-ins.  

In the lead-up to UFC 142, Johnson repeatedly spoke about how much better he felt as a middleweight. As recently as this past week, he said he was at 215 pounds. Clearly, something went drastically wrong during his weight cut.

Win or lose, Anthony Johnson's job is on the line at UFC 142

RIO DE JANEIRO – Dana White today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he's "beyond pissed" at Anthony Johnson (10-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) after the fighter came in 11 pounds overweight for a bout with Vitor Belfort (20-9 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at UFC 142.

The UFC president said Johnson came within a pound-and-a-half of the 186-pound limit allowed for non-title middleweight fights but was forced by a doctor to rehydrate because "he couldn't make it."

Now, Johnson is fighting for his job, regardless of whether he wins or loses the co-main event fight, which takes place Saturday at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

"His job is on the line," White said. "His job is absolutely on the line, win or lose."

White's explanation for Johnson's miss differed sharply from the fighter's representative. Johnson's manager, Glenn Robinson, today told Yahoo! Sports that the fighter fell ill three hours before weigh-ins and was instructed by UFC doctor Jeff Davidson to put fluids back into his body. Those fluids pushed Johnson to 197 pounds. (Robinson declined comment to MMAjunkie.com.)

"Complete and absolute unprofessionalism – that's what happened," White said. "There's no other way it can be explained.

Johnson was fined 20 percent of his "show" purse. It's the third time he's come in over weight in the UFC: At UFC 76, he fought Rich Clementi at a catchweight of 177.5, and at UFC 104, he fought Yoshiyuki Yoshida at 176 pounds. Against Yoshida, he was also fined 20 percent of his "show" purse.

However, the penalty for this infraction could be much worse.