This Saturday, the UFC will make its comeback to Australia after a hiatus of over three years, with a highly anticipated main event super fight featuring the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Emanating from the RAC Arena in Perth, newly crowned UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will defend his title against the reigning 145-pound titleholder and No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Alexander Vokanovski. With Volkanovski stepping up to challenge for the lightweight title in the headlining bout, the co-main event of the evening will see Yair Rodriguez square off with streaking featherweight contender Josh Emmett for the interim 145-pound championship.
Before the fighters can step inside the Octagon at UFC 284, they will step on the scale to make weight for their respective bouts. Did every fighter hit their mark ahead of tomorrow night’s stacked lineup? Find out below:
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)
- Islam Makhachev (155lbs) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (154.5lbs)
- Yair Rodriguez (145lbs) vs. Josh Emmett (145lbs)
- Jack Della Maddalena (171lbs) vs. Randy Brown (171lbs)
- Justin Tafa (266lbs) vs. Parker Porter (264lbs)
- Jimmy Crute (204.5lbs) vs. Alonzo Menifield (205lbs)
Look at what it means for the lightweight champ 💪 #UFC284
(via @UFC_AUSNZ) pic.twitter.com/OJsTneg77q
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 11, 2023
All fighters on the UFC 284 main card successfully made weight, guaranteeing fans will be treated to two spectacular title fights. Things did not go quite as smoothly for the preliminary portion of the evening’s festivities as two fighters failed to make weight.
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)
- Tyson Pedro (206lbs) vs. Modestas Bukauskas (206lbs)
- Joshua Culibao (146lbs) vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (146lbs)
- Shannon Ross (125.5lbs) vs. Kleydson Rodrigues (127lbs)*
- Jamie Mullarkey (155lbs) vs. Francisco Prado (154.5lbs)
Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET)
- Jack Jenkins (145.5lbs) vs. Don Shainis (146lbs)
- Loma Lookboonmee (115.5lbs) vs. Elise Reed (115.5lbs)
- Shane Young (145.5lbs) vs. Blake Bilder (146lbs)
- Zubaira Tukhugov (157.5lbs)* vs. Elves Brenner (155.5lbs)
Keydson Rodrigues stepped onto the scale one pound over the flyweight limit of 126 pounds for his non-title fight with Shannon Ross. Rodrigues will give up 20% of his fight purse and the fight will move forward as scheduled.
Additionally, Zubaira Tukhugov weighed in heavily, registering a weight of 157.5 lbs, surpassing the 156 lbs limit for non-title lightweight fights by 1.5 lbs. Tukhugov was given one additional hour to cut the additional weight but was unable to hit the mark. As a result, he will surrender 30% of his purse.
