IRVINE, Calif. – MMA Junkie was onsite at Friday’s official UFC 298 fighter weigh-ins.
In the main event, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) and unbeaten challenger Ilia Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) were the first two fighters to weigh in and hit their championship marks with confidence and focus.
Paulo Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker (24-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC), who fight in the co-feature, also weighed in early in the window without issue.
Minutes prior to the official weigh-ins window, promotion officials informed MMA Junkie and other reporters the heavyweight prelim between Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Justin Tafa was canceled due to an injury to Tafa.
However, Tafa’s brother Junior Tafa stepped in to face de Lima on one day’s notice with contracts configured during the official weigh-ins window.
The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Irvine, Calif., and preceded the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 8 p.m. ET at Honda Center in nearby Anaheim. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
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The full UFC 298 weigh-in results include:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Alexander Volkanovski (144.5) vs. Ilia Topuria (144.5) – for featherweight title
- Paulo Costa (185.5) vs. Robert Whittaker (185.5)
- Ian Machado Garry (170.5) vs. Geoff Neal (170.5)
- Henry Cejudo (135) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (135)
- Anthony Hernandez (185.5) vs. Roman Kopylov (185)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
- Mackenzie Dern (116) vs. Amanda Lemos (115.5)
- Rinya Nakamura (135.5) vs. Carlos Vera (135.5)
- Zhang Mingyang (204.5) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (205.5)
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima (261) vs. Junior Tafa (249)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
- Danny Barlow (171) vs. Josh Quinlan (169)
- Oban Elliott (170.5) vs. Val Woodburn (169.5)
- Andrea Lee (125.5) vs. Miranda Maverick (126)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.