TORONTO – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official UFC 297 fighter weigh-ins, where two fighters missed their marks on the scale.
The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Toronto and precede the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 5 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Middleweight champion Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) was first to step on the scale in the two-hour window and weighed 184.75 pounds. Challenger Dricus Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was a full pound under the title limit at 184 for the main event.
Champ Sean Strickland and challenger Dricus Du Plessis both look SHREDDED at weigh-ins for Saturday's #UFC297 main event.
They put in the work for this one. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TVXHbQUXL4
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 19, 2024
In the co-feature, former women’s bantamweight title challenger Raquel Pennington (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) was 134.8 pounds for her vacant title bout against Mayra Bueno Silva (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC), who was 135 for a shot at the belt vacated by Amanda Nunes.
The stage is set for a new champion to be crowned after Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva made weight for #UFC297. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/VMh9ICQlFw
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 19, 2024
On the preliminary card, Ramon Taveras (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) badly missed the mark for his bantamweight UFC debut against fellow debutant Serhiy Sidey (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC). Tavares came in at 139.75 pounds and was fined 30 percent of his purse. And to open the event, Malcolm Gordon (14-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC) came in heavy at 127.5 for his flyweight bout against Jimmy Flick (16-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC). Gordon was fined 20 percent of his purse.
The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Toronto and preceded the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 5 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
The full UFC 297 weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Sean Strickland (184.75) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (184) – for middleweight title
- Raquel Pennington (134.8) vs. Mayra Bueno Silva (135) – for vacant women’s bantamweight title
- Neil Magny (170.75) vs. Mike Malott (170.5)
- Marc-Andre Barriault (184.5) vs. Chris Curtis (185.25)
- Arnold Allen (145.5) vs. Movsar Evloev (145.75)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
- Garrett Armfield (135.25) vs. Brad Katona (136)
- Charles Jourdain (145.5) vs. Sean Woodson (145.5)
- Serhiy Sidey (135) vs. Ramon Taveras (139.75)*
- Gillian Robertson (115.75) vs. Polyana Viana (115.75)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)
- Yohan Lainesse (170.75) vs. Sam Patterson (169.5)
- Priscila Cachoeira (133.5) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (133) – moved to bantamweight after initial flyweight contract weight
- Jimmy Flick (126) vs. Malcolm Gordon (127.5)**
*Taveras missed the bantamweight limit. He was fined 30 percent of his purse.
**Gordon missed the flyweight limit. He was fined 20 percent of his purse.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
