Rifdean's Management Says Weight Cut Was Not Its Remit, Apologises to ONE
UXR Management Group its role to documentation, branding, marketing and administration, and thanks ONE Championship and Malaysians for their support
UXR Management Group, the team that represents Malaysian Muay Thai fighter Rifdean Masdor, has issued an official statement clarifying that its role is limited to documentation, branding, marketing and related administrative work, and that pre-fight preparation, including weight-cutting and hydration, falls to the gym responsible for his training and care.
The statement, dated 19 October 2026, also apologises on behalf of UXR and Rifdean to ONE Championship, including CEO Chatri Sityodtong, for "any oversights or confusion" that may have arisen.
UXR said it was responding to "various speculations and comments" on social media about Rifdean's recent bout against Japan's Nadaka Yoshinari at ONE SAMURAI 4, held at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on 17 October.
The management team stressed that its role is strictly limited to documentation, branding, marketing and other administrative aspects. Weight-cutting, hydration and tactical or technical fight strategy, it said, are the responsibility of the gym entrusted with the athlete's training and care. The statement does not name the gym.
Saying it wanted to resolve the matter amicably, UXR apologised to ONE Championship's management, and closed by thanking ONE and the people of Malaysia for giving Rifdean the opportunity and full support to compete on the promotion's stage.
The statement does not spell out the details behind the speculation, but ONE Championship's own updates provide the background.
On 16 October, ONE said Rifdean had missed weight and hydration ahead of the world title fight. He later passed hydration outside the official window and weighed 118.6 lb, which is 3.6 lb above the atomweight limit of 115 lb, according to reports of ONE's update. The bout stayed on as a five-round world title fight, but Rifdean was ineligible to win the belt.
On fight night, Nadaka, 25, stopped Rifdean with a left head kick at 0:58 of round two, retaining his ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title and stretching his winning streak to 43 fights.
The result closed the door on a Malaysian milestone. Before the fight, ONE had billed a Rifdean win as making him only the second Malaysian ONE world champion, after Aliff Sor Dechapan.
The statement does not mention the weight miss directly, does not identify the gym, and does not say what content in the social media commentary UXR was addressing. It also does not report any response from ONE Championship.
Rifdean separately issued a personal apology over a recent social media statement of his own. That apology does not mention the Tokyo bout, and the UXR statement does not mention that apology, so this report does not draw a link between the two.
Nicknamed "Magic Boy", Rifdean earned a US$100,000 ONE Championship contract at The Inner Circle 19 earlier this year with a first-round knockout of Iran's Javad Mozafari. He arrived in Tokyo on a five-fight winning streak in ONE and was one of Malaysia's most closely watched Muay Thai prospects.
Credit Photo : ONE
