MORRISTOWN, N.J. – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s UFC 288 fighter weigh-ins, where one fighter missed and another bout was canceled, but the title fight is intact.
The early weigh-ins take place at the UFC host hotel in New Jersey and precede the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 4 p.m. ET at Prudential Center in Newark. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event, which has a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
In the main event, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) puts his title on the line against former two-division champ Henry Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC). Cejudo is coming out of a retirement of nearly three years.
Cejudo was the first fighter to the scale in the two-hour official window and was 135 pounds on the nose. Sterling was the second to last fighter to weigh in, but still came to the scale with about 50 minutes left in the session. He was under the title limit at 134 to make the headliner official.
In the co-feature, Gilbert Burns (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) takes on Belal Muhammad (22-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in a hastily assembled welterweight No. 1 contender fight that was booked just 16 days out. The winner has been promised the next shot at the title after Colby Covington takes on champion Leon Edwards. Muhammad was 170 pounds; Burns came in at 171.
The flyweight fight between Rafael Estevam (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Zhalgas Zhumagulov (14-8 MMA, 1-5 UFC) was canceled due to what UFC officials termed “weight-cutting issues” for Estevam. Zhumagulov made weight at 125 pounds early in the session, but Estevam never made a trip to the scale.
And the middleweight bout between Joseph Holmes (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Claudio Ribeiro (10-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), which is set to open up the preliminary card, will take place at a catchweight after Holmes came in at 189 pounds. He’ll forfeit 20 percent of his purse as a penalty, but the fight will go on.
The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in New Jersey and preceded the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 4 p.m. ET at Prudential Center in Newark. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event, which has a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Complete UFC 288 weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Aljamain Sterling (134) vs. Henry Cejudo (135) – for bantamweight title
- Gilbert Burns (171) vs. Belal Muhammad (170)
- Jessica Andrade (115) vs. Yan Xiaonan (115)
- Movsar Evloev (145) vs. Diego Lopes (146)
- Kron Gracie (145) vs. Charles Jourdain (145)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Drew Dober (155.5) vs. Matt Frevola (155)
- Devin Clark (205) vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu (205)
- Rolando Bedoya (170) vs. Khaos Williams (169)
- Virna Jandiroba (115) vs. Marina Rodriguez (115)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Parker Porter (249) vs. Braxton Smith (262)
- Ikram Aliskerov (186) vs. Phil Hawes (185)
- Rafael Estevam ()* vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (125)
- Joseph Holmes (189)** vs. Claudio Ribeiro (185)
*Estevam did not come to the scale at the official weigh-ins. UFC officials announced his fight with Zhumagulov is off due to Estevam’s weight-cutting issues.
**Holmes missed the non-title middleweight limit by 3 pounds. He will be fined 20 percent of his purse, and the fight will proceed at a catchweight.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.