UFC 303 is finally just one day away and all 13 fights are now official. All but one fighter weighed in on point on June 28, the day before the iconic event, with featherweight Jean Silva the only competitor to show up overweight.
To end 2024 International Fight Week, Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka will headline UFC 303 as the short-notice replacement. The card was originally scheduled to be topped by Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler but received a re-shuffling following an injury to the Irishman.
UFC 303 Co-Main Event Weight Change
Before the first fighter could reach the scale on June 28, Jon Anik made an announcement to all in attendance and viewing the event online. The featherweight co-main event matchup between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes had been changed to a lightweight bout at the last minute per the request of Ortega’s team.
The fight was announced by Dana White on June 13, the same day that the UFC CEO announced the short-notice main event. In his first interview following the confirmation, Ortega openly admitted that he intended to move up to lightweight following his win over Yair Rodriguez in February.
MMA Fighting reported shortly after the announcement from Anik that Lopes was notified of the weight change at roughly 3 a.m. PT. The Brazilian was one of the first fighters to hit the scale and comfortably hit 155 pounds, clearly having stopped his cut hours before.
Jean Silva Weight Miss
Of the 26 fighters to hit the scales on June 28, featherweight prospect Jean Silva was the only one to fail to reach his contracted limit. Silva weighed in at 147.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit of 146 pounds. He would not make a second attempt to make the weight.
Silva’s opponent, Charles Jourdain, weighed in on point at 146 pounds. As of the time of this writing, the status of the fight remains unknown. Should Jourdain choose to accept the catchweight matchup, he will receive 30 percent of Silva’s purse and the 27-year-old would become ineligible to win any post-fight bonuses.
The fight with Jourdain would be the second UFC appearance from Silva after winning a contract on season seven of Dana White’s Contender Series. In his official promotional debut, Silva knocked out Westin Wilson in the first round as a massive 9-1 betting favorite.
UFC 303 Fighter Weigh-Ins
View the official weigh-in results for all 26 competing fighters of UFC 303 below. All weight results are recorded in pounds.
Main Card (10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on ESPN+ PPV)
(C) Alex Pereira (204.5) vs. Jiri Prochazka (204.5)
Brian Ortega (155) vs. Diego Lopes (155)
Anthony Smith (206) vs. Roman Dolidze (205)
Mayra Bueno Silva (136) vs. Macy Chiasson (135.5)
Ian Machado Garry (170) vs. Michael Page (171)
Preliminary Card (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on ESPN and ESPN+)
Joe Pyfer (185.5) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (185)
Andre Fili (145.5) vs. Cub Swanson (146)
Charles Jourdain (146) vs. Jean Silva (147.5)
Payton Talbott (135.5) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (136)
Early Preliminary Card (6 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+)
Michelle Waterson-Gomez (115) vs. Gillian Robertson (116)
Andrei Arlovski (245) vs. Martin Buday (264.5)
Rei Tsuruya (125.5) vs. Carlos Hernandez (125)
Ricky Simón (136) vs. Vinicius Oliveira (136)
UFC 303 Weigh-In Recap
Eagerly waiting on the side of the stage as the weigh-in window officially opened at noon. ET / 9 a.m. PT, 38-year-old veteran Michelle Waterson-Gomez was the first fighter to step onto the scale. As a former Invicta FC atomweight champion, Waterson-Gomez easily reached the strawweight limit of 115 pounds.
As event weigh-ins typically go, most of the fighters walked onto the stage early in the window. Per the official UFC weight class rules, the weigh-in period lasts for two hours from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. locally.
By the end of the first hour, three fighters were left to hit their mark. Main event title challenger Jiri Prochazka was among them, with Payton Talbott and Anthony Smith making up the final trio. All three would eventually make their way onto the scale before the deadline and make their respective fights official. Smith would be the final athlete to make the walk, making his way to center stage at 1:55 p.m. ET with just five minutes to spare.
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