The lightweight showdown three years in the making is official. Reigning UFC champion Benson Henderson and the last man to defeat him, Anthony Pettis, both met their required weight at Friday’s UFC 164 weigh-ins in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Henderson hit the 155-pound limit exactly on nose, while Pettis tipped the scale .5 pounds lighter, weighing 154.5 ahead of Saturday night’s main event.
“I’m ready for it, guys,” Henderson said afterward. “Some guys like to talk the talk, and talk all they want. I’m not much of a talker. I like to go in there and go inside the Octagon. Let my actions do my talking for me. So that’s what I’m going to do tomorrow night.”
Henderson and Pettis met previously on December 16, 2010 in the final fight of the WEC’s existence. After four back and forth rounds, Pettis stole the show and the title, uncorking a last-minute “Showtime Kick” off the cage wall to defeat Henderson on the judges’ scorecards.
“It’s been five years since I fought here (in Milwaukee),” Pettis said under a hail of cheers from his hometown crowd. “Man, I’m fighting for the belt. Couldn’t be a better place to do it.”
In UFC 164’s co-main event, former UFC heavyweight champions Josh Barnett and Frank Mir both easily cleared 265-pound the heavyweight limit. Barnett weighed in at 255 pounds ahead of his first Octagon appearance since 2002, while Mir came in slightly lighter at 248.
Complete UFC 164 weigh-in results can be seen below.
Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Benson Henderson (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (154.5)
Josh Barnett (255) vs. Frank Mir (248)
Clay Guida (146) vs. Chad Mendes (145)
Ben Rothwell (262) vs. Brandon Vera (241)
Erik Koch (145) vs. Dustin Poirier (145.5)
Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
Gleison Tibau (155) vs. Jamie Varner (156)
Tim Elliott (125) vs. Louis Gaudinot (125)
Pascal Krauss (170) vs. Hyun Gyu Lim (171)
Chico Camus (135) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (136)
Preliminary Card (Facebook, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Nikita Krylov (236) vs. Soa Palelei (265)
Ryan Couture (156) vs. Al Iaquinta (156)
Magnus Cedenblad (185) vs. Jared Hamman (185.5)