Three fighters initially missed weight at Friday’s official UFC Vegas 104 weigh-ins, including a debuting fighter who missed weight by nearly five pounds — an egregious miss. The scale shenanigans meant a whopping 23% of Saturday’s 13-fight card at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas would’ve been contested with weight-related caveats, however one fighter returned and made weight in a second attempt.
The morning’s worst offender was nonetheless Diyar Nurgozhay, an undefeated light heavyweight prospect making his promotional debut against Brendson Ribeiro on the main card. Nurgozhay, a recent signee from UFC’s Contender Series, announced his Octagon arrival by tipping the scales at 210.5 pounds for his 205-pound bout, 4.5 pounds over the division’s legal limit for a non-title affair. Ribeiro weighed 205.5 pounds.
Co-headliner Chidi Njokuani (172.25) and preliminary card prospect Josias Musasa (136.5) also initially missed weight by 1.25 pounds and .5 pounds, respectively, for their bouts against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Carlos Vera. Musasa returned after further cutting weight and hit 136 pounds on the nose.
Both bouts with weight misses will continue forward as planned, however however Nurgozhay has been fined 25% of his purse for his botched cut. Njokuani was also fined an undisclosed amount.
Middleweight headliners Marvin Vettori (186) and Roman Dolidze (186) both tipped in at the legal limit for their non-title rematch, rendering Saturday’s main event official.
Compete UFC Vegas 104 weigh-in results:
Main card (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
Marvin Vettori (186) vs. Roman Dolidze (186)
Chidi Njokuani (172.25)* vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (171)
Alexander Hernandez (156) vs. Kurt Holobaugh (155.5)
Da’Mon Blackshear (136) vs. Cody Gibson (136)
Diyar Nurgozhay (210.5)* vs. Brendson Ribeiro (205.5)
Seung Woo Choi (146) vs. Kevin Vallejos (145.5)
Preliminary card (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
Waldo Cortes-Acosta (261.5) vs. Ryan Spann (249)
SuYoung You (136) vs. A.J. Cunningham (136)
Carlos Vera (136) vs. Josias Musasa (136.5)
Stephanie Luciano (116) vs. Sam Hughes (116)
Daniel Barez (126) vs. Andre Lima (126)
Josiane Nunes (136) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (135)
Yuneisy Duben (125.5) vs. Carli Judice (125)
*Fighters missed weight