SALT LAKE CITY – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official UFC 278 fighter weigh-ins, where everyone on the card hit their marks.
In the main event, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC) takes on challenger Leon Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in a rematch. Usman won their first fight in 2015 in his first bout after winning “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Usman was the first fighter to the scale in the two-hour official window and was 170 pounds on the nose. Edwards was right behind him and was 170, as well.
In the co-main event, former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) returns after a layoff of more than three years to take on Paulo Costa (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC). Costa has lost two straight, including a middleweight title bout. In his follow-up, he struggled to make 185 pounds and fought Marvin Vettori at light heavyweight and lost a decision. But he had no issues on the scale Friday and came in at 185.5 pounds. Rockhold hit 185.5, as well.
The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Salt Lake City and preceded the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 6 p.m. ET at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event, which has a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
The full UFC 278 weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Kamaru Usman (170) vs. Leon Edwards (170) – for welterweight title
- Paulo Costa (185.5) vs. Luke Rockhold (185.5)
- Jose Aldo (136) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (136)
- Lucie Pudilova (135.5) vs. Wu Yanan (136)
- Harry Hunsucker (204.5) vs. Tyson Pedro (205.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Alexandr Romanov (239.5) vs. Marcin Tybura (252.5)
- Jared Gordon (155.5) vs. Leonardo Santos (156)
- Luis Saldana (145.5) vs. Sean Woodson (146)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- A.J. Fletcher (170.5) vs. Ange Loosa (170.5)
- Amir Albazi (126) vs. Francisco Figueiredo (125.5)
- Aori Qileng (136) vs. Jay Perrin (136)
- Victor Altamirano (125) vs. Daniel Da Silva (126)
