The UFC 309 main event is official, but one fighter missed the contracted weight on Friday ahead of Saturday’s pay-per-view.
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his title against Stipe Miocic on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Both Jones and Miocic weighed well under the 265-pound limit for heavyweights.
Jones weighed in at a svelte 237.6, and Miocic was 11 pounds heavier at 248.6. Heavyweight fights are the only division where you will see such massive differences in weigh-in totals.
The co-main event is also official, with Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler weighing 155.6 pounds. Their fight is a rematch and an early favorite to win Fight of the Night.
The fighter who missed weight is James Llontop. He is scheduled to compete against rising Brazilian star Mauricio Ruffy to open the main card. Ruffy is a lightweight and was initially scheduled to face Charlie Campbell on Saturday at 155 pounds.
Campbell was forced to pull out due to injury, and Llontop stepped in as a late replacement. Because he hadn’t had an opportunity to begin his weight cut in normal anticipation for the fight, Ruffy and Llontop agreed to a catchweight of 165 pounds.
Unfortunately, Llontop still missed weight by 1.2 pounds, weighing in at 166.2. There is no one-pound grace for catchweight fights. Llontop didn’t look steady on the scales or as he walked off the stage.
Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter posted a video of Llontop’s weight miss.
The Ruffy-Llontop fight will still happen, barring some complications between Friday morning and fight night. Llontop almost certainly doesn’t want to miss the payday and the opportunity to perform at MSG in front of a pay-per-view audience. Ruffy went through an entire camp and his career is on the upswing, he definitely wants to fight to keep his momentum going.
Here is a look at the official weigh-in results for every fighter on the card.
UFC 309 Official Weigh-In Results
- Main Event – Heavyweight Title Bout: Jon Jones (237.6) vs Stipe Miocic (248.6)
- Co-Main Event – Lightweight Bout: Charles Oliveira (155.6) vs Michael Chandler (155.6)
- Middleweight Bout: Bo Nickal (185.4) vs Paul Craig (186)
- Women’s Flyweight Bout: Viviane Araujo (125.6) vs Karine Silva (125.8)
- Catchweight Bout (165-lbs): Mauricio Ruffy (164.4) vs James Llontop (166.2)*
- Bantamweight Bout: Jonathan Martinez (135.8) vs Marcus McGhee (135.6)
- Middleweight Bout: Chris Weidman (186) vs Eryk Anders (185.6)
- Lightweight Bout: Jim Miller (155.6) vs Damon Jackson (155.2)
- Lightweight Bout: David Onama (155.6) vs Roberto Romero (155)
- Heavyweight Bout: Marcin Tybura (251) vs Jhonata Diniz (253.2)
- Welterweight Bout: Mickey Gall (170.8) vs Ramiz Brahimaj (170.2)
- Welterweight Bout: Bassil Hafez (171) vs Oban Elliott (170)
- Women’s Flyweight Bout: Veronica Hardy (125.8) vs Eduarda Moura (125.2)
UFC 309 – How to Watch
The card begins on Saturday, November 16, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with the main card at 10 pm ET on ESPN+ PPV.
You can watch the prelims on FX, Hulu, ESPNNEWS, and ESPN Deportes on ESPN+ at 8 pm ET. The early prelims start at 6 pm ET on ESPN+ and UFC FightPass.
I’ll offer post-event coverage on Saturday night that will wrap up a massive weekend in combat sports.
