A battle of top bantamweight contenders is less than a day away.
UFC Vegas 44 headliners Rob Font and Jose Aldo are official for Saturday’s card at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, coming in at 134 pounds and 136 pounds, respectively. Font is currently ranked No. 5 in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings, with Aldo a spot behind at No. 6.
It is the second consecutive main event for Font and the eighth UFC main event for Aldo, a former champion at 145 pounds.
There was one eye-popping result as Azamat Murzakanov — normally a light heavyweight — weighed in nearly 50 pounds lighter than heavyweight opponent Jared Vanderaa, who tipped the scales at 265 pounds. Vanderaa stepped in on short notice for Philipe Lins after Lins withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
However, shortly after the conclusion of the morning weigh-ins, officials announced that due to Vanderaa not being medically cleared to compete, the bout has been cancelled. It was initially announced that the bout was cancelled due to COVID-19 protocol, but a correction was issued soon after.
All 28 remaining fighters competing at UFC Vegas 44 successfully made weight, including lightweight co-headliners No. 12-ranked Brad Riddell and No. 13-ranked Rafael Fiziev.
See the UFC Vegas 44 weigh-in results below:
Main Card (ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET)
Rob Font (134) vs. Jose Aldo (136)
Brad Riddell (155.5) vs. Rafael Fiziev (155.5)
Jim Crute (205.5) vs. Jamahal Hill (205)
Clay Guida (155) vs. Leonardo Santos (156)
Brendan Allen (185.5) vs. Chris Curtis (185)
Mickey Gall (170.5) vs. Alex Morono (170.5)
Preliminary Card (ESPN and ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)
Maki Pitolo (184.5) vs. Dusko Todorovic (185.5)
Manel Kape (125.5) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (125.5)
Bryan Barberena (170.5) vs. Darian Weeks (170)
Jake Matthews (170) vs. Jeremiah Wells (170.5)
Cheyanne Vlismas (115.5) vs. Mallory Martin (115)
Alonzo Menifield (205.5) vs. William Knight (206)
Chris Gruetzemacher (156) vs. Claudio Puelles (155)
Azamat Murzakanov (216.5) vs. Jared Vanderaa (265)*
Vince Morales (135.5) vs. Louis Smolka (135.5)
*Murzakanov vs. Vanderaa has been cancelled due to Vanderaa not being medically cleared to compete