LONDON – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s UFC 286 fighter weigh-ins, where all but one fighter hit their marks on the scale.
In the main event, welterweight champion Leon Edwards (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) and ex-champ Kamaru Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) meet in a trilogy rematch for Edwards’ title, which he took from Usman with a dramatic head-kick knockout this past August. Usman was the first fighter to come to the scale during the two-hour window in London and was 170 pounds. Edwards came about a half-hour later and was 170, as well.
In the co-feature, lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) takes on former interim champ Justin Gaethje (23-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC). Both fighters hit 156 pounds on the scale to make their showdown official.
Malcolm Gordon (14-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) was the lone fighter of 30 to miss weight for his flyweight bout against Jake Hadley (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC). Gordon came in at 129.5 pounds early in the weigh-ins session and chose to stop his weight cut rather than take additional time to try to hit the mark. He will be fined a percentage of his purse. Hadley was 126.
The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in London and preceded the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 2 p.m. ET at The O2 in London. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event, which has a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.
Complete UFC 286 weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 5 p.m. ET)
- Champ Leon Edwards (170) vs. Kamaru Usman (170) – for welterweight title
- Rafael Fiziev (156) vs. Justin Gaethje (156)
- Bryan Barberena (171) vs. Gunnar Nelson (170)
- Jennifer Maia (125) vs. Casey O’Neill (125)
- Roman Dolidze (186) vs. Marvin Vettori (185.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews/ESPN+, 3 p.m. ET)
- Makwan Amirkhani (146) vs. Jack Shore (146)
- Chris Duncan (156) vs. Omar Morales (156)
- Yanal Ashmoz (155) vs. Sam Patterson (155.5)
- Jafel Filho (125.5) vs. Muhammad Mokaev (126)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)
- Lerone Murphy (145.5) vs. Gabriel Santos (145.5)
- Christian Duncan (185.5) vs. Dusko Todorovic (186)
- Malcolm Gordon (129.5)* vs. Jake Hadley (126)
- Luana Carolina (126) vs. Joanne Wood (126)
- Jai Herbert (156) vs. Ludovit Klein (156)
- Veronica Hardy (125.5) vs. Juliana Miller (125.5)
Gordon missed the flyweight limit and will be fined a percentage of his purse.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
