LAS VEGAS – This time it didn’t end with a kiss, but with serious staredown. Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and the man who took his belt, Chris Weidman, both made weight on Friday at the UFC 168 weigh-ins to set the stage for one of the biggest rematches in UFC history.
Weidman came in at 184 pounds, and Silva at 185.
Throughout Silva’s reign as the 185-pound champion he traditionally avoided eye contact during the staredown. But, chiseled and sporting a goatee beard, the challenger met Weidman with his dukes up in classic pose, and the two squared off without incident.
“Great show for all the people and the fans of the UFC. That’s it. Get the belt back,” Silva said.
The Long Island native Weidman, who heard his share of boos interspersed with cheers, wore a smile on his face while chewing gum.
“It means everything,” he told Joe Rogan. “It’s the biggest fight of my life, and I’m excited to go out there and do my thing. This is my time. Anderson Silva had his time, this is my time and I’ll show it tomorrow.”
And, somewhat surprisingly, emotions were kept under control during the co-main event staredown as well. Women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (135) and challenger Miesha Tate (135) made weight and had a pretty serious face-off, with Tate smiling while Rousey stared her down intensely.
All other fighters made weight for UFC 168, with the exception of Diego Brandao, who came in eight pounds over the featherweight limit (153). His opponent, Dustin Poirier (146) had choice words for the Brazilian during the face-off. That fight, featuring two of the featherweight classes brightest up-and-comers, kicks off the pay-per-view.
Main Card PPV
Chris Weidman (184) vs. Anderson Silva (185)
Miesha Tate (135) vs. Ronda Rousey (135)
Travis Browne (242) vs. Josh Barnett (252)
Fabricio Camoes (156) vs. Jim Miller (156)
Diego Brandao (153)* vs. Dustin Poirier (146)
FOX Sports 1 prelims
Uriah Hall (185) vs. Chris Leben (185.5)
Michael Johnson (156) vs. Gleison Tibau (156)
Manny Gamburyan (146) vs. Dennis Siver (145)
Siyar Bahadurzada (171) vs. John Howard (171)
Facebook prelims
Bobby Voelker (171) vs. William Macario (171)
Estevan Payan (145) vs. Robbie Peralta (145.5)
* Diego Brandao will sacrifice 25% of his fight purse to Dustin Poirier and the commission for missing the 146-pound threshold for featherweight. His final weight was 151.5 pounds.