There were several intense staredowns but nothing got out of control at the UFC 153 weigh-ins after all fighters successfully made weight.
Headliner Stephan Bonnar stepped up to the scale wearing a “We Step Up” t-shirt, referring to the fact that both he and his opponent, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, took this fight on short notice to save the card that had been ravaged with injuries.
Watch two UFC 153 preliminary fights Saturday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT live on Sportsnet.ca. This is followed by the two-hour televised undercard on Sportsnet ONE at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
The massive underdog tipped the scales at and even 205 pounds, while Silva weighed in at 202 pounds for their non-title, light-heavyweight bout.
Silva, who was supposed to fight Chael Sonnen at UFC 147 in Brazil before their tilt was moved to UFC 148, said: “I owe this fight to all my fans and I can’t wait to fight.”
Bonnar wouldn’t outright say that he is going to shock the world, but proclaimed he will never give up.
“I always fight my ass off and tomorrow is going to be no different. I’m a gritty son of a bitch and I won’t give up.”
In the co-main event, Brazilian heavyweight hero Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira stepped on the scale at 243 pounds and his opponent Dave Herman weighed an almost identical 244 pounds.
Herman has said that jiu-jitsu doesn’t work on him and continued pressing Big Nog’s buttons after the weigh-ins.
“I’m looking to submit him and retire him,” Herman said. “BJJ is a joke.”
To which Nogueira responded: “Herman said he wants to retire me. Thank you, but that’s going to happen for a while.”
Another featured bout is between dangerous light-heavyweights Glover Teixeira and Fabio Maldonado.
“Nothing personal, but I waited too long and worked too hard to get to the UFC for anyone to stop me now,” Teixeira said.
Teixeira is one of the most feared fighters in the division, but his opponent is not intimidated.
“I respect Glover as an athlete but I am going to go after him,” Maldonado said. “I really am.”
Every fighter on the card made weight on their first attempt at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro — the same venue where Saturday’s event will take place.
Here are the complete weigh-ins results:
MAIN CARD (Pay-Per-View)
— Anderson Silva (202) vs. Stephan Bonnar (205)
— Dave Herman (244) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (243)
— Fabio Maldonado (203) vs. Glover Teixeira (204)
— Jon Fitch (170) vs. Erick Silva (169)
— Phil Davis (206) vs. Wagner Prado (204)
— Demian Maia (170) vs. Rick Story (170)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Sportsnet ONE)
— Rony Mariano Bezerra (145) vs. Sam Sicilia (146)
— Gleison Tibau (155) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (154)
— Diego Brandao (144) vs. Joey Gambino (146)
— Renee Forte (169) vs. Sergio Moraes (169)
PRELIMS (Sportsnet.ca)
— Chris Camozzi (184) vs. Luiz Cane (184)
— Reza Madadi (155) vs. Cristiano Marcello (155)
