Title fight set, but one fighter off the mark

NEW YORK – MMA Junkie was on stage reporting live from Friday’s official UFC 309 fighter weigh-ins, where all but one fighter hit their marks on the scale.

In the main event, heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) takes on former champion Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in a highly anticipated matchup. Jones weighed 237.6 pounds. Miocic will have a slight weight advantage at 248.6.

In the co-feature, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) takes on Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC). When he became champion, Oliveira missed weight for a title defense against Justin Gaethje and was stripped of the belt. He is trying to work his way back into a title shot and this time was at the 155.6 mark. Chandler, who was the first fighter to hit the scale, was the same.

To open the main card, James Llontop (14-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) takes on Mauricio Ruffy (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a bout originally slated for lightweight when Ruffy fought Charlie Campbell. Llontop stepped in on short notice and the bout was set at 165 pounds at a catchweight. But Llontop missed that limit on the scale by £1.2 and was fined 20 per cent of his purse.

The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in New York and preceded ceremonial weigh-ins for the fanswhich takes place at 5pm ET at The Theater at MSG. The attached Madison Square Garden hosts Saturday’s event (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+).

The full UFC 309 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Jon Jones (237.6) vs. Stipe Miocic (248.6) – for heavyweight title
• Michael Chandler (155.6) vs. Charles Oliveira (155.6)
• Paul Craig (186) vs. Bo Nickal (185.4)
• Viviane Araujo (125.6) vs. Karine Silva (125.8)
• James Llontop (166.2)* vs. Mauricio Ruffy (164.4) – 165-pound catchweight

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews/FX/Hulu, 8 p.m. ET)

• Jonathan Martinez (135.8) vs. Marcus McGhee (135.6)
• Eryk Anders (185.6) vs. Chris Weidman (186)
• Damon Jackson (155.2) vs. Jim Miller (155.6)
• David Onama (155.6) vs. Roberto Romero (155)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Hulu/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Jhonata Diniz (253.2) vs. Marcin Tybura (251)
• Ramiz Brahimaj (170.2) vs. Mickey Gall (170.8)
• Bassil Hafez (171) vs. Oban Elliott (170)
• Veronica Hardy (125.8) vs. Eduarda Moura (125.2)

*Llontop missed the catchweight limit and was fined 20 percent of his purse.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkies event hub for UFC 309.