NEW ORLEANS – For a bunch of fighters cutting weight all week, there might not be a better city in the country to put a few pounds back on than New Orleans.
All 24 fighters for UFC Fight Night 25 made weight Friday at Spanish Plaza in New Orleans on the banks of the Mississippi River. UFC Fight Night 25 takes place Saturday at the Ernest R. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, the UFC’s first trip to “The Big Easy” since UFC 29.
Main event fighters Jake Shields (171) and Jake Ellenberger (170) each made weight for their welterweight bout. Shields fights for the first time since the death of his father and manager, Jack Shields, last month. Shields is coming off a five-round decision loss to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Ellenberger seeks his fifth straight win.
Also on the main card, co-main event fighters Court McGee and Dong-Yi Yang weighed in at 184.5 and 186 pounds, respectively, for their middleweight bout. McGee returns for the first time since a UFC 121 submission win over Ryan Jensen, moving him to 2-0 on the UFC after winning Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Hand and knee injuries have kept him on the shelf since then.
Another TUF winner, TUF 12 champ Jonathan Brookins, weighed in at 145.5 for his fight against Erik Koch, who is looking for his third straight fight night bonus award and fourth straight win. Koch was 146.
And Alan Belcher returns for the first time in 16 months following a pair of surgeries for a detached retina to fight Jason MacDonald in a middleweight bout to open the televised card on Spike TV. MacDonald returned in April after a nearly yearlong layoff for a broken leg and submitted Jensen at UFC 129. Belcher was 186 after stripping down; MacDonald was 185.
On the preliminary card, “The Ultimate Fighter” vets Shamar Bailey (156) and Cody McKenzie (155.5) were each on weight for their fights against Evan Dunham (156) and Vagner Rocha (155.5), respectively. The eight-fight preliminary card streams live on the UFC’s Facebook page.
The complete weigh-in results are below:
Main Card
Jake Shields (171) vs. Jake Ellenberger (170)
Court McGee (184.5) vs. Dongi Yang (186)
Jonathan Brookins (145.5) vs. Erik Koch (146)
Alan Belcher (186) vs. Jason MacDonald (185)
Facebook Prelims
Cody McKenzie (155.5) vs. Vagner Rocha (155.5)
Evan Dunham (156) vs. Shamar Bailey (156)
Matt Riddle (171) vs. Lance Benoist (170.5)
Ken Stone (136) vs. Donny Walker (135.5)
Clay Harvison (170) vs. Seth Baczynski (171)
TJ Waldburger (171) vs. Mike Stumpf (171)
Mike Lullo (146) vs. Robert Peralta (145.5)
Justin Edwards (171) vs. Jorge Lopez (171)