The fight night weights for UFC 298 have been revealed by the California State Athletic Commission with welterweight competitor Geoff Neal making the biggest jump between stepping on the scale on Friday and then facing Ian Machado Garry on Saturday.
The report provided by the commission to MMA Fighting shows the percentage of weight gained by every fighter on the card. Over the past few years, the California commission has attempted to curb extreme weight cutting using tools like this and making suggestions to some athletes that a change in weight class could be necessary in the future.
The biggest percentage gain on the entire card came from Neal, who hit the scale at 170.5 pounds and then gained a whopping 30.3 pounds — 18 percent of his body weight — before facing Garry the next night at UFC 298. For his part, Garry weighed the same on Friday at 170.5 pounds but only gained an additional 10.1 pounds — six percent of his body weight — and ultimately earned a unanimous decision victory in the fight.
In the UFC 298 main event, both Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski gained almost an identical amount of weight before facing off in Anaheim. Topuria hit the scale at 144.5 pounds and then gained 22.7 pounds to weigh 167.2 pounds on fight night.
Meanwhile, Volkanovski weighed 144.5 pounds and gained 21.7 pounds to ultimately weigh 166.2 pounds on fight night.
Paulo Costa also saw one of the biggest jumps in weight on the card after he hit the scale at 185.5 pounds and then gained 29.7 pounds to weigh 215.2 pounds on fight night.
Bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili also saw one of the biggest weight gains before he set foot in the octagon to do battle with Henry Cejudo at UFC 298. The Georgian fighter weighed 135 pounds on the scale and then gained 21.8 pounds — 16 percent of his body weight — to hit 156.8 pounds on Saturday before the fight. Cejudo weighed 150.6 pounds on fight night after he also hit 135 pounds on weigh-in day.
Here are the full fight night weights for UFC 298 along with the percentage of weight gained for each fighter:
Alexander Volkanovski: (145 to 166.2 pounds = 15 percent) vs. Ilia Topuria (144.5 to 167.2 pounds = 16 percent)
Paulo Costa (185.5 to 215.2 pounds = 16 percent) vs. Robert Whittaker (185.5 to 207.6 pounds = 12 percent)
Ian Machado Garry (170.5 to 180.6 pounds = 6 percent) vs. Geoff Neal (170.5 to 200.8 pounds = 18 percent)
Henry Cejudo (135 to 150.6 pounds = 12 percent) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (135 to 156.8 pounds = 16 percent)
Roman Kopylov (185 to 194 pounds = 5 percent) vs. Anthony Hernandez (185.5 to 203.6 pounds = 10 percent)
Mackenzie Dern (116 to 127 pounds = 9 percent) vs. Amanda Lemos (115.5 to 123.8 pounds = 7 percent)
Junior Tafa (249 to 247 pounds = -1 percent) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (261.5 to 273.4 pounds = 5 percent)
Carlos Vera (135.5 to 158.6 pounds = 17 percent) vs. Rinya Nakamura (135.5 to 147.2 = 9 percent)
Brendson Ribeiro (205.5 to 219.6 pounds = 7 percent) vs. Zhang Minyang (204.5 to 230.2 pounds = 13 percent)
Danny Barlow (171 to 197.8 pounds = 16 percent) vs. Josh Quinland (169 to 187.8 pounds = 11 percent)
Val Woodburn (169.5 to 184 pounds = 9 percent) vs. Oban Elliott (170.5 to 185.2 pounds = 9 percent)
Miranda Maverick (126 to 135.8 pounds = 8 percent) vs. Andrea Lee (125.5 to 136.2 pounds = 9 percent)
