Rob Font’s first weight miss comes in a high-profile spot.
The sixth-ranked bantamweight in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings came in 2.5 pounds over the limit for his UFC Vegas 53 main event bout opposite No. 11 Marlon Vera on Saturday. Vera was the first fighter to hit the scales at Friday’s official weigh-ins and he successfully made weight (with one-pound allowance for a non-title bout) at 136 pounds.
Officials immediately announced that Font would not be making a second attempt. The bout will proceed at a catchweight with Font forfeiting 20 percent of his purse as penalty.
Co-main event heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Jake Collier (265) successfully made weight. This is UFC appearance No. 38 for Arlovski, the most ever by a heavyweight and second-most overall behind Jim Miller (39)
The rest of the fighters on the 12-fight card made weight without issue.
See full UFC Vegas 53 weigh-in results below:
Main Card (ESPN, ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)
Rob Font (138.5)* vs. Marlon Vera (136)
Andrei Arlovski (246) vs. Jake Collier (265)
Andre Fili (145.5) vs. Joanderson Brito (145.5)
Jared Gordon (155.5) vs. Grant Dawson (155.5)
Darren Elkins (145.5) vs. Tristan Connelly (146)
Krzysztof Jotko (186) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (185)
Preliminary Card (ESPN2, ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET)
Alexandr Romanov (236.5) vs. Chase Sherman (247)
Daniel Lacerda (125) vs. Francisco Figueiredo (125.5)
Gabriel Green (170.5) vs. Yohan Lainesse (169)
Natan Levy (155) vs. Mike Breeden (155.5)
Gina Mazany (126) vs. Shanna Young (125)
Tatsuro Taira (125.5) vs. Carlos Candelario (126)
*Font missed weight by 2.5 pounds for his fight with Marlon Vera. The bout will proceed at a catchweight with Font forfeiting 20 percent of his purse as penalty
