Unlike the UFC 148 weigh-ins two weeks prior, everything at the UFC 149 weigh-ins went smoothly, as all fighters made weight on their first attempt and there were no scuffles to speak of.
UFC 149 marks the first time the Ultimate Fighting Championship will hold an event in Alberta and the card has gone through an unprecedented number of injury replacements and scheduling changes. Still, the organization has managed to put together a card that people are excited about, and not only in Canada.
Watch a special UFC 149 preview show starting at 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. MT on Sportsnet Ontario, East, West and Pacific followed by two hours of live preliminary fights at 8 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. MT.
The event is headlined by an interim bantamweight title fight between former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion (The California Kid) Urijah Faber and Brazilian standout Renan Barao.
Although neither fighter has any direct ties to Calgary or Canada, it won’t be the first time they compete in the country that’s home to seven other fighters at UFC 149.
Barao made his WEC debut in Edmonton at WEC 49 — the first and only WEC event held in Canada — where he submitted Anthony Leone with a spectacular third-round armbar. It was the same advanced technique Matt Hughes used to submitted Georges St-Pierre at UFC 50.
“I’m very happy to be here,” Barao said through a translator after weighing in at 135 pounds on the dot. “I’m well trained, well prepared. You’re going to see a good show on Saturday.”
Barao is 1-0 in Alberta and unbeaten since his MMA debut in 2005, amassing 28 wins and one no contest.
Faber, who has also only competed north of the border once in his career, is happy to be back competing in front of his Canadian fans, of which he has many.
“I’m super excited. I’m ready to put on a show. Canada, happy to be here,” Faber said. “It’s going to be an awesome fight. Barao is tough but not tougher than I am.”
The co-main event features longtime Bellator champion Hector Lombard making his highly anticipated UFC debut against Tim Boetsch who is unbeaten in the middleweight division.
Plus there are seven Canadians on the card including Calgary’s own Nick Ring.
Here are the complete weigh-in results from UFC 149.
MAIN CARD (PPV)
— Urijah Faber (135) vs. Renan Barao (135)
— Tim Boetsch (186) vs. Hector Lombard (185.5)
— Shawn Jordan (250) vs. Cheick Kongo (231)
— Brian Ebersole (171) vs. James Head (170)
— Chris Clements (170) vs. Matthew Riddle (170.8)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Sportsnet)
— Court McGee (185.5) vs. Nick Ring (185)
— Roland Delorme (135) vs. Francisco Rivera (136)
— Ryan Jimmo (205) vs. Anthony Perosh (205.5)
— Bryan Caraway (135.5) vs. Mitch Gagnon (135)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
— Antonio Carvalho (145) vs. Daniel Pineda (145)
— Mitch Clarke (155) vs. Anton Kuivanen (156)
