Merab Dvalishvili, UFC 323 official weigh-ins

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday's UFC 323 fighter weigh-ins, where two fighters missed their marks – but the title fights are official.

In the main event, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA, 14-2 UFC) goes for a record fourth title defense this calendar year against former champion Petr Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC). The fight is a rematch from 2023, which Dvalishvili won by unanimous decision in a five-round Fight Night main event. Dvalishvili was the first fighter to the scale and was 135 pounds on the nose. Yan was 135, as well, about 40 minutes later.

In the co-feature, flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja (30-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) tests 24-year-old Joshua Van (15-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who attempts to become the second-youngest champion in company history behind Jon Jones. Pantoja was 125 and was the second fighter to weigh in. Van was a half-pound under the title limit at 124.5.

Mairon Santos (16-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) missed the featherweight mark by 1.5 pounds for his curtain jerker against Muhammad Naimov (13-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and will be fined 20 percent of his purse. And later on the prelims, Brunno Ferreira (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was three pounds heavy for his middleweight fight against former title challenger Marvin Vettori (19-9-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC), who will get 20 percent of the Brazilian's purse for the weight infraction.

The official weigh-ins took place at the UFC Apex in "Sin City" and preceded the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 8 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden. It's nearby T-Mobile Arena, which hosts Saturday's event (ESPN+ pay-per-view/ESPN2/ESPN+/Disney+/FX)

Complete UFC 323 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Merab Dvalishvili (135) vs. Petr Yan (135) – for bantamweight title
  • Alexandre Pantoja (125) vs. Joshua Van (124.5) – for flyweight title
  • Brandon Moreno (125) vs. Tatsuro Taira (126)
  • Henry Cejudo (136) vs. Payton Talbott (136)
  • Jan Blachowicz (206) vs. Bogdan Guskov (206)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2/ESPN+/Disney+/FX, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Grant Dawson (156) vs. Manuel Torres (156)
  • Terrance McKinney (156) vs. Chris Duncan (156)
  • Maycee Barber (125.5) vs. Karine Silva (125.5)
  • Nazim Sadykhov (155.5) vs. Fares Ziam (156)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+/Disney+/FX, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Marvin Vettori (186) vs. Brunno Ferreira (189)*
  • Edson Barboza (155.5) vs. Jalin Turner (155)
  • Iwo Baraniewski (206) vs. Ibo Aslan (205.5)
  • Mansur Abdul-Malik (185.5) vs. Antonio Trocoli (186)
  • Muhammad Naimov (146) vs. Mairon Santos (147.5)**

*Ferreira missed the middleweight limit. The fight will continue at a catchweight, and he will be fined 20 percent of his purse.**Santos missed the featherweight limit. The fight will continue at a catchweight, and he will be fined 20 percent of his purse.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 323 weigh-in results: Title bouts set, but two heavy in Vegas

Reporting by MMA Junkie / MMA Junkie

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