Tonight, UFC fighters will take part in a ceremonial weigh-in ahead of Sunday’s unprecedented fight card at the White House. Having completed their official weigh-in in front of media on Saturday morning, the athletes will take to the stage again in front of fans, for one final face-off with their opponents.
The ceremonial weigh-in will take place at the Ellipse, a park near the White House, whose South Lawn will host seven fights on Sunday – including a main-event lightweight-title bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, and a co-main event between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight belt.
However, it was controversial heavyweight Josh Hokit who stole the show at Friday’s press conference, and he did the same by seemingly pretending to be sick at Friday’s official weigh-in.
The American, who has made a name for himself in recent months by playing different characters, dribbled a sick-coloured liquid from his mouth at the morning weigh-in as he expressed his apprehension over fighting Derrick Lewis, the favourite fighter of US President Donald Trump.
Follow live updates from the ceremonial weigh-in, below.
Alex Pereira shockingly bigger than Ciryl Gane
So, the most interesting weigh-in result saw Alex Pereira tip the scales heavier than Ciryl Gane.
Pereira, a former middleweight and two-time light-heavyweight champion, is making his heavyweight debut on Sunday.
Yet it was the Brazilian, 38, who was heavier than Gane, who is a former interim heavyweight champion (and a mainstay of this division).
France’s Gane, 36, weighed in at 248lb, but Pereira was 3lb heavier.
Does that bode well for Pereira’s trademark KO power? A big question ahead of Sunday’s fights has been whether that power will carry up to this new weight…
Full results from morning weigh-in
Okay, so the ceremonial weigh-in this evening is the fun one, but the one that mattered most was the morning edition.
Here’s how each fighter tipped the scales – thankfully, but predictably, without any missing weight for this seismic fight card:
Ilia Topuria (155lb) vs Justin Gaethje (155lb) – lightweight title
Alex Pereira (251) vs Ciryl Gane (248) – interim heavyweight title
Sean O’Malley (135.5lb) vs Aiemann Zahabi (135lb) – bantamweight
Josh Hokit (231) vs Derrick Lewis (265) – heavyweight
Mauricio Ruffy (155) vs Michael Chandler (156) – lightweight
Bo Nickal (186) vs Kyle Daukaus (186) – middleweight
Diego Lopes (146) vs Steve Garcia (146) – featherweight
Josh Hokit throws up at morning weigh-in: ‘So what? I was drinking’
Right, let’s get straight to the story of the day: this morning, as the fighters weighed in before a crowd of media personnel, Hokit seemingly pretended to throw up, as he dribbled a sick-coloured liquid from his mouth.
“So what? Maybe I was drinking last night,” Hokit told those in the room. “Who wouldn’t be?
“I’ve got a giant man who wants to knock me out. He has the most knockouts in UFC history,” the American heavyweight added, referencing his opponent Derrick Lewis.
Hokit, 28, also appeared to be on unsteady legs as he walked into the room, took to the scale, and exited. However, this also seemed to be part of his act.
Hokit has made a name for himself in recent months by playing different characters. At Friday’s press conference, he continually referenced “The Incredible Hoke”, while he spoke nervously about all of the fighters at the event.
More here:
UFC Freedom 250 weigh-in LIVE: Welcome!
Tonight, UFC fighters will take part in a ceremonial weigh-in ahead of Sunday’s unprecedented fight card at the White House. Having completed their official weigh-in in front of media on Saturday morning, the athletes will take to the stage again in front of fans, for one final face-off with their opponents.
The American, who has made a name for himself in recent months by playing different characters, dribbled a sick-coloured liquid from his mouth at the morning weigh-in as he expressed his apprehension over fighting Derrick Lewis, the favourite fighter of US President Donald Trump.
Follow live updates from the ceremonial weigh-in, right here.
