SALT LAKE CITY – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official UFC 278 fighter weigh-ins, where everyone on the card hit their marks.
In the main event, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC) takes on challenger Leon Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in a rematch. Usman won their first fight in 2015 in his first bout after winning “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Usman was the first fighter to the scale in the two-hour official window and was 170 pounds on the nose. Edwards was right behind him and was 170, as well.
In the co-main event, former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) returns after a layoff of more than three years to take on Paulo Costa (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC). Costa has lost two straight, including a middleweight title bout. In his follow-up, he struggled to make 185 pounds and fought Marvin Vettori at light heavyweight and lost a decision. But he had no issues on the scale Friday and came in at 185.5 pounds. Rockhold hit 185.5, as well.
The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Salt Lake City and preceded the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which takes place at 6 pm ET at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event, which has a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
The full UFC 278 weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ Kamaru Usman (170) vs. Leon Edwards (170) – for welterweight title Paulo Costa (185.5) vs. Luke Rockhold (185.5) Jose Aldo (136) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (136) Lucie Pudilova (135.5) vs. Wu Yanan (136) Harry Hunsucker (204.5) vs. Tyson Pedro (205.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
Alexander Romanov (239.5) vs. Marcin Tybura (252.5) Jared Gordon (155.5) vs. Leonardo Santos (156) Luis Saldana (145.5) vs. Sean Woodson (146)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
AJ Fletcher (170.5) vs. Ange Loosa (170.5) Amir Albazi (126) vs. Francisco Figueiredo (125.5) Aori Qileng (136) vs. Jay Perrin (136) Victor Altamirano (125) vs. Daniel Da Silva (126)
