The California State Athletic Commission has revealed the fight night weights for UFC 298, with welterweight competitor Geoff Neal making the biggest jump in weight, gaining 30.3 pounds or 18% of his body weight before his fight against Ian Machado Garry.
UFC 298’s fight night weights are out, thanks to the California State Athletic Commission. Geoff Neal, a welterweight contender, made the most significant leap. He weighed in on Friday and then faced Ian Machado Garry on Saturday.
The commission shared a report with MMA Fighting. It showed how much weight each fighter gained. The California commission has been trying to control extreme weight cutting in recent years. They’ve been using tools like this and suggesting some athletes might need to change weight classes.
Neal had the most significant percentage gain on the card. He weighed in at 170.5 pounds and then gained a whopping 30.3 pounds. That’s 18 percent of his body weight. He faced Garry at UFC 298 the next night. Garry also weighed 170.5 pounds on Friday but only put on an extra 10.1 pounds. That’s just six percent of his body weight. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
In the UFC 298 main event, Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski both gained almost the same amount of weight. Topuria weighed in at 144.5 pounds and then put on 22.7 pounds. He weighed 167.2 pounds on fight night.
Volkanovski also weighed 144.5 pounds. He gained 21.7 pounds and weighed 166.2 pounds on fight night.
Paulo Costa saw one of the biggest jumps in weight. He weighed in at 185.5 pounds and then gained 29.7 pounds. He weighed 215.2 pounds on fight night.
Merab Dvalishvili, a bantamweight contender, also had a significant weight gain. He weighed in at 135 pounds and then put on 21.8 pounds. That’s 16 percent of his body weight. He weighed 156.8 pounds on fight night. He fought Henry Cejudo at UFC 298. Cejudo weighed 150.6 pounds on fight night. He also weighed in at 135 pounds.
Here are the full fight night weights for UFC 298. It also shows 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)