Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman will become quite familiar with one another when they engage in battle during their middleweight title fight in the main event of UFC 162 Saturday night.
But no one expected them to get as close as they did at the official weigh-ins Friday in Las Vegas.
After the two middleweights stepped on the scale – Silva at 184 pounds, Weidman at an even 185 – they squared off.
Hands at their sides, the two stared each other down and then Weidman took a step forward. Silva reciprocated and the two found themselves nose to nose and, awkwardly, lip to lip at one point before the challenger took a step back.
“It was nice. He has nice lips,” Weidman joked afterwards before telling his wife not to be jealous.
Weidman (9-0) is considered by many – including welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre – to be the man that will hand Silva his first loss in the UFC.
“He’s the man but it’s my time,” Weidman told UFC commentator Joe Rogan. “Tomorrow night is my night.”
Silva, who is not one for pre-fight talk, will be looking to improve to 17-0 inside the Octagon and defend his title for an 11th time.
“All the fighters that fight in the UFC is the best,” Silva said. “I go to fight for my fans. That’s it.”
Oh, and here’s what the popular Taiwanese animation Youtube channel NMAWorldEdition had to say about Silva vs. Weidman:
Watch four UFC 162 preliminary fights on Sportsnet 360 on Saturday from 5-7pm PT / 8-10pm ET and catch two live early prelims on sportsnet.ca Saturday starting at 4pm PT / 7pm ET
Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is set for his first three-round fight since 2009 as he stepped on the scale at 146 pounds for his co-main event featherweight bout with rising contender Charles Oliveira.
The two also got face-to-face, though not quite as close as Silva and Weidman did.
Edgar is looking to snap a three-fight losing streak, while Oliveira attempts to bounce back from a loss to Cub Swanson, who will open the pay-per-view portion of the card against Dennis Siver.
Following a loss to Weidman last summer, middleweight Mark Munoz battled depression and says he developed a food addiction. Five months ago he weighed as much as 261 pounds (that’s Roy Nelson territory!), but stepped on the scale at a svelte 185 pounds for his tilt against Tim Boetsch.
The only unpleasantries at Friday’s festivities, which took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, was when lightweights Norman Parke and Kazuki Tokudome had to be separated after the two pressed their heads aggressively into one another.
All fighters made weight on their first attempt.
Below are the complete results from the official UFC 162 weigh-ins:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10:00 p.m. ET)
— Anderson Silva (184) vs. Chris Weidman (185)
— Frankie Edgar (146) vs. Charles Oliveira (144)
— Roger Gracie (186) vs. Tim Kennedy (186)
— Tim Boetsch (186) vs. Mark Munoz (185)
— Dennis Siver (145) vs. Cub Swanson (144)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Sportsnet 360, 8:00 p.m. ET)
— Andrew Craig (186) vs. Chris Leben (186)
— Norman Parke (156) vs. Kazuki Tokudome (155)
— Gabriel Gonzaga (262) vs. Dave Herman (242)
— Edson Barboza (155) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (155)
PRELIMINARY CARD (sportsnet.ca, 7:00 p.m. ET)
— Seth Baczynski (170) vs. Brian Melancon (170)
— David Mitchell (171) vs. Mike Pierce (171)
