The most important day during fight week is always weigh-in day. UFC 248 had their weigh-in day today and for the most part, it went off with just one little hiccup.
With the exception of strawweight Emily Whitmire, all the other fighters hit the target. Whitmire missed the strawweight limit of a 116 pounds by 1.5 pounds when she stepped on the scale at 117.5 earlier today in Las Vegas. Her fight versus Polyana Viana will still take place, and Whitmire will be fined 20% of her purse for her transgression on the scale.
The 2 fights at the top of the card for the middleweight championship and the strawweight championship should both be epic clashes between four exceptional athletes.
Adesanya vs Romero In the main event slot may surprise many people when it’s over. While the world is picking Adesanya to retain his title in this his 1st defense of it. I think many folks are not giving Romero enough credit in this matchup. Yes, he is on a 2 fight losing streak, but make no mistake he is a gamer and this may be his final shot at championship gold and I feel as if he will not squander this opportunity, but rather go out there and win because he has nothing to lose if he loses!
A truly beautiful striker in Adesanya versus, Romero, who is an absolute freak of nature wrestler is what this sport is all about. Discipline versus discipline, art form versus art form is the true definition of what mixed martial arts competition was founded on, and this one embodies all of that.
Zhang vs Jedrzejczyk is going to steal the show tomorrow night in my opinion. The former champion Jedrzejczyk, who holds the record for the most title defenses in the division taking on the new champion Zhang who is no-frills and all business and in the midst of a 20 fight winning streak is a match maker’s dream.
Both fighters are strikers, yet stylistically there are some differences. Joanna likes to come forward and put pressure on her opponents mixing arm strikes from numerous positions to keep her opponents at bay. A little more technique than power is what she brings. Whereas her opponent Zhang Is an expert at using her strong leg kicks to keep her opponents at distance before she starts to unleash real powerful and accurate arm strikes that can end the fight at any time. Zhang also has a clear advantage in my opinion, if the fight happens to go to the ground. Zhang is going to be the stronger athlete in the octagon tomorrow night, and her pure physical strength mixed with her technical prowess and violent striking is going to carry her to victory.
Official weigh-in results:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champion Israel Adesanya (184.5) vs. Yoel Romero (185) – for middleweight title
Champion Zhang Weili (115) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (115) – for women’s strawweight title
Beneil Dariush (156) vs. Drakkar Klose (156)
Li Jingliang (171) vs. Neil Magny (171)
Max Griffin (170.5) vs. Alex Oliveira (171)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
Sean O’Malley (135.5) vs. Jose Quinonez (135.5)
Austin Hubbard (154.5) vs. Mark Madsen (156)
Saparbek Safarov (186) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (186)
Gerald Meerschaert (185) vs. Deron Winn (185.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Polyana Viana (116) vs. Emily Whitmire (117.5)
Jamall Emmers (145.5) vs. Giga Chikadze (146)
Danaa Batgerel (136) vs. Guido Cannetti (135.5)
UFC 248 takes place tomorrow night from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada. The prelims will start at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+ followed by another round of prelims on ESPN at 8:00 p.m, and finally moving to the main card which will air exclusively on ESPN pay-per-view starting at 10:00 p.m.
Christopher James has been in the MMA industry for 15 years, Working as a ring announcer for promotions like the XFC, Island Fights, Combat Night and Fight Nights Global during his career. Chris’ love for the sport and the athletes that partake in it led him to writing and doing face to face interviews with the athletes he admired and respected. Chris isn’t conventional by any stretch of the imagination, he has his own style, and takes pride in not being a “cookie-cutter” member of the media. Unique and sometimes controversial takes are what he brings to the table, forcing folks to think a little differently about the world of MMA. He also has a love for music as he has been a dj for 25 years and his love for music gets brought to the MMA world when he gets his guests to sing on his weekly show Cage Side with Christopher James which can be seen Wednesday nights on FACEBOOK LIVE, and soon via podcast.