When a light-heavyweight moves up to fight a heavyweight, you’d think they’d be at a weight disadvantage.
That wasn’t the case Friday, though, as Daniel Cormier stepped on the scale 3.5 pounds heavier than Stipe Miocic one day prior to their UFC 226 main event bout.
Cormier is the current champion in the UFC’s 205-pound division but he weighed in at an in-shape 246 pounds as he looks to join Conor McGregor as the only simultaneous two-weight champions in UFC history.
Heavyweight kingpin Miocic’s official weight was 242.5 pounds, the lightest he’s weighed in for a fight since his UFC 198 contests against Fabricio Werdum—the fight in which he became world champ.
Cormier began his mixed martial arts career competing in the heavyweight division, compiling a 11-0 record and winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2012 before making his UFC debut in 2013.
The two-time Olympic freestyle wrestler earned dominant wins over former heavyweight champ Frank Mir and The Ultimate Fighter season 10 winner Roy Nelson in his first two UFC appearances before moving down to light-heavyweight.
Cormier’s only missteps in the 205-pound division have been against Jon Jones, the consensus greatest fighter in MMA history, and the fact he typically walks around at north of 240 pounds goes to show what certain fighters put themselves through in order to compete in lighter weight classes.
Michael Chiesa was the lone fighter on the card that missed weight. Chiesa came in at 157.5 pounds, a pound-and-a-half above the limit for non-title lightweight fights. The 30-year-old said he plans to move up to the welterweight division (170-pound weight class) after UFC 226.
Here are the complete results from the UFC 226 weigh-ins
MAIN CARD
— Stipe Miocic (242.5) vs. champ Daniel Cormier (246)
— Derrick Lewis (264.5) vs. Francis Ngannou (253)
— Paul Felder (170) vs. Mike Perry (170.5)
— Michael Chiesa (157.5) vs. Anthony Pettis (156)
— Khalil Rountree (205) vs. Gokhan Saki (206)
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Paulo Costa (185.5) vs. Uriah Hall (185.5)
— Raphael Assuncao (136) vs. Rob Font (135.5)
— Drakkar Klose (156) vs. Lando Vannata (156)
— Max Griffin (170.5) vs. Curtis Millender (170.5)
— Gilbert Burns (155.5) vs. Dan Hooker (155.5)
— Jamie Moyle (116) vs. Emily Whitmire (116)
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