Cormier, Miocic hit scale lighter than for ’18 fight
Daniel Cormier weighs in at 236 pounds while Stipe Miocic is 230.5 pounds for their heavyweight title rematch. Order UFC 241 at https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv. (1:09)
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic weighed in successfully Friday morning for their UFC heavyweight title fight — both significantly lighter than they did for their first matchup last year.
Cormier weighed in at 236.5 pounds, and Miocic hit the scale at 230.5 pounds. The heavyweight title fight maximum is 265 pounds. Cormier will defend his belt against Miocic in the main event of UFC 241 on Saturday night at Honda Center.
In July 2018, Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round at UFC 226 to win the heavyweight title. Before that bout, Cormier weighed in at 246.5 pounds. In Cormier’s subsequent fight against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 in November, he weighed 251.2 pounds — nearly 15 pounds heavier than he weighed in Friday.
Miocic weighed in at 242.5 pounds at UFC 226. This is the lightest Miocic has ever weighed in for a UFC fight. The previous low was 236 in his 2011 UFC debut.
Cormier (22-1, 1 NC) is a former two-division UFC champion and one of the greatest fighters in the promotion’s history. The Northern California resident’s lone official loss came against Jon Jones in 2015. Cormier, 40, has said this could be his final career bout.
Miocic (18-3) has not fought since losing to Cormier in July 2018. The Ohio native defended the UFC heavyweight title a division-record three consecutive times before dropping it to Cormier. Miocic, 36, had won six straight prior to UFC 226 and has beaten the likes of Francis Ngannou, Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem.
The co-main event for UFC 241 is also official. Nate Diaz, in his return fight after three years away, weighed in at 170 pounds for the welterweight contest. His opponent, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, weighed 169.5 pounds.
Yoel Romero, who has had issues making weight in the past, made 184.5 pounds for his middleweight fight with Paulo Costa. The middleweight limit is 186, which is where Costa came in.
A bout between Manny Bermudez and Casey Kenney was originally scheduled for bantamweight but was moved up to a 140-pound catchweight Thursday night because both had a large weight cut, California State Athletic Commission executive officer Andy Foster told ESPN.
All the other fighters on the UFC 241 card made weight.