The weigh-ins for the first UFC event in nearly two months are in the books as fighters made their way to the scale on Friday for UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje.
Under rather abnormal circumstances, Friday’s weigh-in represented at least somewhat of a return to normalcy for the fighters and, truth be told, also for us in the media. Only one fighter missed the mark, though all four fighters in the two championship fights were spot on.
Justin Gaethje, one half of the UFC 249 main event, was the second fighter to the scale, easily hitting the 155-pound mark. His opponent, Tony Ferguson, stepped on the scale about half an hour later also weighing 155 pounds.
Gaethje and Ferguson will battle for the interim UFC lightweight championship on the heavily revamped fight card.
Ferguson had originally been slated to challenge lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the UFC 249 main event when it was slated for April 18 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
After Nurmagomedov was forced out because of a lockdown in Russia, Ferguson was then lined up with Gaethje, still on April 18, but on Native American tribal lands in California. The plug was pulled at the last minute on that event, which is when UFC President Dana White sifted the fight card to May 9 in Jacksonville, Fla., where the governor, mayor, and athletic commission offered their support in moving forward with the UFC restarting operations.
The UFC 249 co-main event pits bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo against former titleholder Dominick Cruz after both fighters made 135 pounds on the nose.
Cejudo had been slated to defend the belt against former featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo in Brazil on May 9. Coronavirus restrictions across the globe, however, caused monumental shifts. Cejudo moving to the UFC 249 fight card in the U.S. without Aldo.
The stacked UFC 249 fight card also features what promises to be a blistering welterweight fight as the featured bout of the prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone aren’t competing for a title or event a contender’s spot, but each is considered a dynamic, go-for-broke fighter. Each of them is also coming off of disappointing losses, promising that sparks will fly in Jacksonville.
Both having fought frequently at 155 pounds, Pettis and Cerrone easily made weight for their welterweight tilt, which is also a rematch of a bout that Pettis won handily seven years ago.
Veteran fighter Jeremy Stephens stepped on the scale early in the proceedings a full 4.5 pounds over the limit for his featherweight non-title fight with Calvin Kattar. As of the time of publication, UFC officials had not yet announced whether the fight would continue with Kattar receiving a portion of Stephens’s fight purse.
Stephens was the only fighter to miss weight.
UFC 249: Ferguson vs Gaethje Weigh-in Results
Main Card (10 p.m. ET on PPV on ESPN+)
- Tony Ferguson (155) vs. Justin Gaethje (155)*
- Henry Cejudo (c) (135) vs. Dominick Cruz (135)**
- Francis Ngannou (251.5) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (260)
- Jeremy Stephens (150.5)*** vs. Calvin Kattar (146)
- Greg Hardy (265.5) vs. Yorgan De Castro (262)
Prelims (6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+)
- Anthony Pettis (170.5) vs. Donald Cerrone (171)
- Aleksei Oleinik (227.5) vs. Fabrício Werdum (243)
- Carla Esparza (115.5) vs. Michelle Waterson (115)
- Uriah Hall (186) vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (186)
- Vicente Luque (170) vs. Niko Price (170.5)
- Bryce Mitchell (145.5) vs. Charles Rosa (146)
- Ryan Spann (206) vs. Sam Alvey (205)
*For the interim UFC lightweight championship
**For the UFC bantamweight championship
***Jeremy Stephens missed weight by 4.5 pounds
Source – https://sports.yahoo.com/ufc-249-weigh-results-dual-151114884.html