Ariane da Silva made a big impression at the UFC 316 official weigh-ins, but for all the wrong reasons.
The flyweight veteran tipped the scales at 132 pounds Friday morning, six pounds over the non-title limit (which includes a one-pound allowance) for her 125-pound bout against Wang Cong. Wang successfully made weight at 125 pounds.
MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz confirmed with sources with knowledge of the negotiations that da Silva vs. Wang will proceed as a catchweight with da Silva forfeiting 30 percent of her purse as penalty.
Wang also addressed the situation via an Instagram video in which she sympathized with da Silva.
The news was considerably more positive for Saturday’s top two fights as all four bantamweight championship competitors successfully made weight.
Men’s champion Merab Dvalishvili came in a shade under the limit at 134 pounds and opponent Sean O’Malley was 135 for their championship rematch. Dvalishvili defeated O’Malley at UFC 306 to claim the title and then successfully defended it against Umar Nurmagomedov this past January. That victory was also the 12th in a row for Dvalishvili.
Women’s champion Julianna Peña was 135 pounds for the first defense of her second reign, but the bigger story was challenger Kayla Harrison hitting that same mark. Harrison, a two-time PFL tournament champion at 145 pounds, had never weighed lower than 136 pounds for any of her previous 19 fights. She had no issue doing so Friday morning and is now set for her first UFC title fight.
Outside of da Silva, the rest of the lineup successfully weighed in without issue.
UFC 316 takes place at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Saturday.
See official weigh-in results below.
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)
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+ at 8 p.m. ET)
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+ at 6 p.m. ET)
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)
*da Silva missed weight. Her bout with Wang Cong proceeds at a catchweight with da Silva forfeiting 30 percent of her purse as penalty
