One-half of your main event LOCKED @BorrachinhaMMA
[
#UFCVegas41 | Tomorrow | Live on ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/YJLq775mNd— UFC (@ufc)
October 22, 2021
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The drama over the middleweight-turned-light heavyweight
Ultimate Fighting Championship headliner came
to an end when Paulo Costa
hit the scales.
The
UFC Fight Night 196 card being held inside the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas on Saturday was to have a middleweight main event between
Costa (13-1) and Marvin
Vettori (17-5-1) in a battle of former title challengers and
Israel
Adesanya foes. On Wednesday, Costa announced he would not be
making weight, and after a tumultuous turn of events on Thursday,
the two agreed to a 195-pound catchweight limit before shifting it
later that night to 205 pounds. Although this is a significant
asterisk, every fighter on the card officially made weight for this
show.
Costa suffered the first loss of his career in his last appearance,
when he faced Adesanya for the middleweight throne in September
2020. Against the Nigerian-born kickboxer, Costa was chopped down
with leg kicks before stopped in the second frame with a barrage of
punches and elbows. Before the defeat, Costa racked up 13 wins
include five inside the Octagon, while amassing a finish rate of
92% on his way up. A consummate professional, “Borrachinha” came in
below his newly established weight class by weighing 204.5
pounds.
Italy’s Vettori had no choice but to keep accepting the matchup as
it transformed, although he will be receiving 20% of Costa’s purse
for the weight change. Vettori too fell short in his last outing to
Adesanya, dropping a one-sided unanimous verdict at the end of one
of the longest fight cards in company history. The defeat halted a
five-fight win streak where he claimed victories over names like
Kevin
Holland, Jack
Hermansson and Andrew
Sanchez as he battled through the division. “The Italian
Stallion” ended up being the last fighter to take the scales, and
he unexpectedly weighed in calmly at 204 pounds.
UFC Fight Night 196 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas takes place on
Saturday, with its entire event airing on ESPN+. The main card
commences at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, while the three-hour preliminary
showcase begins at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
UFC Fight Night 196 Weigh-in Results:
Paulo
Costa (204.5) vs. Marvin
Vettori (204)
Grant
Dawson (156) vs. Ricky Glenn
(155.5)
Jessica-Rose
Clark (135.5) vs. Joselyne
Edwards (134.5)
Alex
Caceres (146) vs. Seung Woo
Choi (145.5)
Francisco
Trinaldo (169.5) vs. Dwight
Grant (170)
Nicolae
Negumereanu (204.5) vs. Isaac
Villanueva (205)
Jun
Yong Park (185.5) vs. Gregory
Rodrigues (185.5)
Mason
Jones (156) vs. David Onama
(153.5)
Tabatha
Ricci (115) vs. Maria
de Oliveira Neta (115)
Jamie
Pickett (184.5) vs. Laureano
Staropoli (185.5)
Khama
Worthy (155) vs. Jai Herbert
(155)
Jeff
Molina (125) vs. Daniel
Lacerda (125)
Livinha
Souza (115) vs. Randa
Markos (115)
Jonathan
Martinez (135) vs. Zviad
Lazishvili (135)
