The UFC Vegas 115 official weigh-ins got messy at the end, with a familiar face involved.
At the close of the first weigh-in window, three of the last four fighters to step to the scale missed weight for Saturday’s event at Meta Apex. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev (207), Rafael Estevam (136.5), and Darrius Flowers (156.5) all failed to make weight for their respective contests, coming in over the limit even including the one-pound allowance for non-title fights.
For Estevam, this is the third time he has failed to make weight for a UFC fight after previously missing at twice at 125 pounds. He came in at 130 pounds for a flyweight bout with Felipe Bunes this past August, prompting a move up a division.
It was later announced that Estevan and Flowers’ bouts against Ethyn Ewing and Lando Vannata, respectively, will proceed as catchweights with the offending fighters forfeiting 20 percent of their purses as penalty.
Yakhyaev was cleared for a second attempt and later successfully weighed in at 206 pounds.
There was no drama when it came to the top two fights on the card. Longtime lightweight contender Renato Moicano was the first fighter to weigh in, successfully hitting the mark at 156 pounds. His opponent, Chris Duncan, later registered the same weight.
Strawweight contenders Virna Jandiroba (116) and Tabatha Ricci (115.5) were also on point for the co-main event.
See UFC Vegas 115 official weigh-in results below.
Main Card (Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET)
Renato Moicano (156) vs. Chris Duncan (156)
Virna Jandiroba (116) vs. Tabatha Ricci (115.5)
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev (206)* vs. Brendson Ribeiro (205)
Ethyn Ewing (135.5) vs. Rafael Estevam (136.5)**
Tommy McMillen (145.5) vs. Manolo Zecchini (145)
Jose Delano (144.5) vs. Robert Ruchala (146)
Preliminary Card (Paramount+ at 5 p.m. ET)
Guilherme Pat (250.5) vs. Thomas Petersen (251)
Alessandro Costa (125.5) vs. Stewart Nicoll (126)
Lando Vannata (156) vs. Darrius Flowers (156.5)***
Alice Pereira (136) vs. Hailey Cowan (136)
Azamat Bekoev (186) vs. Tresean Gore (185.5)
Dione Barbosa (126) vs. Melissa Gatto (125.5)
Kai Kamaka III (155) vs. Dakota Hope (155)
*Yakhaev missed weight on first attempt. Successfully weighed in at 206 pounds on second attempt
**Estevam missed weight. His bout with Ethyn Ewing proceeds at a catchweight with Estevam forfeiting 20 percent of his purse as penalty
***Flowers missed weight. His bout with Lando Vannata proceeds at a catchweight with Flowers forfeiting 20 percent of his purse as penalty
