The Bellator 67 weigh-ins were held today from the Casino Rama resort in Orillia, Ontario, and all fighters were on hand to step on the scales and offer final comments to fans and media in attendance.
All main-card fighters made weight, and only preliminary fighter and local Bellator veteran Will Romero weighed in at over the limit. He has one hour to lose the three pounds he needed to to make the 145-pound limit.
Weigh-in Quotes and Highlights
In what can sometimes be a fairly dull event, the clear highlight for me was when Japanese veteran star and long-time original in mixed martial arts, Akihiro Gono, answered Bellator MC Michael Smith’s question in English: “Old veteran is going to make big upset against undefeated champion tomorrow night. Look forward to it!”
I love when foreign fighters try hard for the fans, and Gono put himself out there with his broken English. With my Canadian-Japanese heritage, it is an honor to have Gono fighting here this weekend, and I look forward to speaking with him tomorrow.
Now, do I really think that the savy Japanese veteran has a shot at an upset tomorrow? It’s a fight and anything can happen, but I give it a 90 percent chance that Chandler beats him. If Gono pulls the upset, it will be a slick submission from a Chandler mistake. There is a large gap in experience there, and it’s Gono’s only chance.
Another highlight was watching the tattoo-riddled Canadian Ryan Ford take the scale with extremely thick bling around his neck. Even with the large, gold Jesus chain, Ford came in under weight at 169.8 pounds.
Ford is a very popular fighter in Canada and will probably get the biggest pop of the night when he enters the cage tomorrow night.
This is Ford’s Bellator debut and a huge fight for the future of his career. Luis Santos is an extremely tough and experienced fighter.
Ford was asked by Smith what this debut means to him.
“Everything. I’m ready to put it on for Canada. Luis is explosive and experienced, but I’m ready to get in there and do my thing.”
Main Card Weigh-in Results
Welterweight: Luis Santos (170.0) vs. Ryan Ford (169.8)
Heavyweight: Dave Huckaba (255.4) vs. Damian Grabowski (241.4)
Welterweight: Bryan Baker (171.0) vs. Ben Saunders (171.0)
Lightweight: Akihiro Gono (155.6) vs. Michael Chandler (156.0)
Keep it locked here for Bellator 67 Results and Post-Fight press conference highlight’s
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA, MMA Editor at CKSN.ca and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca.
Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.
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