Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway are a day away from one of the vital extremely anticipated fights of the yr at UFC 308, however the official weigh-ins already featured loads of drama.
Although all 26 fighters competing Saturday in Abu Dhabi efficiently made weight—together with headliners Topuria and Holloway, each at 145—a lot of the thrill Friday morning involved the standing of Khamzat Chimaev. “Borz” is ready to compete for simply the second time since September 2022, having skilled a number of bout cancellations on account of sickness and different points, so there was motive for followers to marvel if he would even make it to the dimensions.
Certain sufficient, Chimaev was the final fighter to weigh in, coming in effectively into the second hour of the official window. In reality, beneath the revised protocol the UFC has used at a number of occasions, fighters are inspired to register a weight within the first hour and provided that that try goes awry ought to they make the most of the second hour. Regardless, an apologetic Chimaev stepped to the dimensions and efficiently weighed in at 186 kilos for his combat towards former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (185.5).
Watch highlights of the official weigh-ins above.
The morning featured two different curiosities, with lightweights Mateusz Rebecki and Myktybek Orolbai now competing in a 160-pound catchweight bout, and Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo moved as much as the 145-pound restrict. The latter change created confusion as Hugo weighed in first at 145.5 kilos, adopted by Basharat coming in at 137 kilos. Each fighters most just lately competed at bantamweight.
A motive for the adjustments was not introduced.
Take a look at UFC 308 official weigh-in outcomes under.
Major Card (ESPN+ PPV at 2 p.m. ET)
Ilia Topuria (145) vs. Max Holloway (145)
Backup fighter: Diego Lopes (145)
Robert Whittaker (185.5) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (186)
Magomed Ankalaev (204.5) vs. Aleksandar Rakic (206)
Lerone Murphy (145.5) vs. Dan Ige (146)
Shara Magomedov (185) vs. Armen Petrosyan (186)
Prelims (ESPN+ at 10 a.m. ET)
Ibo Aslan (205) vs. Raffael Cerqueira (203)
Geoff Neal (171) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (171)
Mateusz Rebecki (160) vs. Myktybek Orolbai (159)
Abus Magomedov (185) vs. Brunno Ferreira (185.5)
Kennedy Nzechukwu (241) vs. Chris Barnett (264)
Farid Basharat (147) vs. Victor Hugo (145.5)
Ismail Naurdiev (185) vs. Bruno Silva (186)
Rinat Fakhretdinov (171) vs. Carlos Leal (169.5)
