The stage for Eagle
FC‘s North American debut is set after a weird, yet fairly
uneventful, weigh-in ceremony.
Eagle FC 44 will be the organization’s first event after
introducing 165- and 175-pound weight divisions, while abolishing
the 170-pound class internally. Headliner Sergei
Kharitonov initially came overweight for his heavyweight bout
against Tyrone
Spong, but later weighed in under the 266-pound limit.
Meanwhile, miscommunication between the commission and the
promotion wound up giving fighters a three-hour window to step on
the scales instead of the standard two. Besides those hiccups, only
one fighter on the card, Dylan
Salvador, officially missed weight, as the French fighter came
in 3.4 pounds over the featherweight limit.
This main event will mark the third mixed martial arts bout for
Spong (2-0), who returns to the sport for the first time since 2013
when he won a unanimous decision over Angel
DeAnda. The highly accomplished kickboxer weighed 228.4 pounds,
and will be the smaller man against Kharitonov. The Russian veteran
is 2-2 in his last four, with losses to Cheick Kongo
and Linton
Vassell bookended by wins over Fabio
Maldonado and Oli
Thompson. Kharitonov officially weighed 264.6 pounds in his
second attempt.
Eagle FC 44 will stream live and free on FLXcast on Friday, and
the card begins at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
Eagle FC 44 Weigh-in Results:
Tyrone
Spong (228.4) vs. Sergei
Kharitonov (264.6)
Rashad
Evans (202.2) vs. Gabriel
Checco (204.4)
Ray
Borg (135.8) vs. Cody Gibson
(135.8)
Ramazan
Kuramagomedov (174.6) vs. John Howard
(174.8)
Raimond
Magomedaliev (175.4) vs. Anthony
Njokuani (173.6)
Arman
Ospanov (146) vs. Dylan
Salvador (149.4)*
Yorgan De
Castro (264.6) vs. Shaun Asher
(239.4)
Miles
Hunsinger (175.8) vs. Demarques
Jackson (174.6)
Shawn
Bunch (135.6) vs. Firdavs
Khasanov (134.2)
Loik
Radzhabov (165) vs. Zach Zane
(164.5)
Sitik
Muduev (155.4) vs. Majdeddine
Ayadi (156)
* Salvador missed weight by 3.4 pounds and has been fined 20% of
his purse.