Ariane da Silva made a significant impression at the official UFC 316 weigh-ins on Friday morning, although it was for an undesirable reason.
The experienced flyweight contender stepped onto the scale and weighed in at 132 pounds. This is a substantial six pounds above the non-title limit (which includes the standard one-pound allowance) for her scheduled 125-pound bout against Wang Cong. Her opponent, Wang Cong, successfully made weight at 125 pounds.
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the fight between da Silva and Wang is still expected to proceed. However, it will now take place at a catchweight. As a consequence of missing weight, da Silva is required to forfeit 30 percent of her fight purse as a penalty.
Wang Cong addressed the situation publicly, posting an Instagram video where she reportedly expressed empathy towards da Silva.
In more positive news regarding Saturday`s marquee matchups, all four athletes competing in the two Bantamweight championship bouts successfully hit their required weights.
For the men`s championship rematch, the listed champion Merab Dvalishvili weighed in slightly under the limit at 134 pounds, while his opponent Sean O’Malley was 135 pounds. The report indicates Dvalishvili previously defeated O`Malley at UFC 306 to become champion and recently defended the title against Umar Nurmagomedov in January, extending his impressive winning streak to twelve consecutive victories.
In the women`s title fight, champion Julianna Peña came in at 135 pounds for the initial defense of her second championship reign. Notably, her challenger, Kayla Harrison, also successfully made the 135-pound mark. Harrison, a highly accomplished two-time PFL tournament champion primarily competing at 145 pounds, had never weighed in below 136 pounds across her nineteen previous professional fights. Her successful weigh-in on Friday morning officially sets the stage for her debut UFC title opportunity.
Aside from Ariane da Silva`s issue, the remainder of the fight card successfully completed their weigh-ins without any problems.
UFC 316 is scheduled to take place on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Official Weigh-in Results:
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV)
- Merab Dvalishvili (134) vs. Sean O’Malley (135)
- Julianna Peña (135) vs. Kayla Harrison (135)
- Kelvin Gastelum (185) vs. Joe Pyfer (185)
- Mario Bautista (135) vs. Patchy Mix (135)
- Vicente Luque (170) vs. Kevin Holland (170)
Prelims (ESPN/ESPN+/Disney+)
- Bruno Silva (125) vs. Joshua Van (125)
- Azamat Murzakanov (205) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (205)
- Serghei Spivac (251) vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta (265)
- Khaos Williams (170) vs. Andreas Gustafsson (170)
Early Prelims (ESPN+/Disney+)
- Ariane da Silva (132)* vs. Wang Cong (125)
- Jeka Saragih (145) vs. Joo Sang Yoo (145)
- Quillan Salkilld (156) vs. Yanal Ashmouz (155)
- MarQuel Mederos (155) vs. Mark Choinski (155)
*Ariane da Silva missed weight. Her bout with Wang Cong will proceed at a catchweight, and da Silva will forfeit 30 percent of her purse as a penalty.
