Editor’s note: The article has been updated at 6:55 p.m. ET to
reflect the cancelation of one of the main card matchups.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship‘s “BMF Championship” will be on
the line for the second time at
UFC 291.
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Vying to be the promotion’s “baddest MFer” are former interim
lightweight champions Dustin
Poirier and Justin
Gaethje. Both men came prepared and looked sharp during the
weigh-ins, as “The Diamond” weighed 155 pounds on the dot, while
Gaethje came in at 156 pounds.
Two fighters failed to make weight for the card. The most notable
miss came from Michel
Pereira, who checked in at 174 pounds for his welterweight
match against Stephen
Thompson. Shortly before the ceremonial weigh-in show, the UFC
announced that the fight has been canceled. The promotion has
listed on its website that the heavyweight scrap between Derrick
Lewis and Marcos
Rogerio de Lima has been elevated to the main card.
Additionally, Vinicius
Salvador came in at 128.5 pounds for his flyweight contest
against C.J. Vergara.
As a result of being 2.5 pounds over the limit, Salvador has been
fined 20% of his purse..
This marks the first fight of the year for Poirier (29-7, 1 NC).
The fan-favorite is coming off a rear-naked choke win over Michael
Chandler, which served as a bounce-back performance after
losing via the same submission to then-champion Charles
Oliveira. Prior to the defeat, the Louisiana native had won
three straight, including two wins over Conor
McGregor.
Meanwhile, “The Highlight” got back on the winning track after his
own RNC loss to Oliveira by winning a majority decision over
Rafael
Fiziev earlier this year. This marks the first time that
Gaethje has fought twice in a year since 2020. His other recent
victory was an all-out war against Michael
Chandler that saw Gaethje earn a unanimous decision.
The UFC 291 main card will air live on ESPN+ pay-per-view at 10
p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Saturday. Prelims begin on ESPN+ and UFC Fight
Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT before transitioning to ABC, ESPN
and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
UFC 291 Weigh-in Results:
Dustin
Poirier (155) vs. Justin
Gaethje (156)
Jan
Blachowicz (205) vs. Alex
Pereira (205.5)
Michel
Pereira (174)* vs. Stephen
Thompson (170.5)
Tony
Ferguson (155) vs. Bobby Green
(155.5)
Michael
Chiesa (170) vs. Kevin
Holland (169.5)
Gabriel
Bonfim (170) vs. Trevin
Giles (170)
Derrick
Lewis (263.5) vs. Marcos
Rogerio de Lima (262)
Roman
Kopylov (185) vs. Claudio
Ribeiro (185.5)
Darrius
Flowers (170.5) vs. Jake
Matthews (170)
Vinicius
Salvador (128.5)** vs. C.J. Vergara
(125.5)
Uros
Medic (170.5) vs. Matthew
Semelsberger (169.5)
Priscila
Cachoeira (125) vs. Miranda
Maverick (125.5)
* Pereira missed weight by three pounds and the bout has been
canceled.
** Salvador missed weight by 2.5 pounds and has been fined 20%
of his purse.