Before the fighters are able to step into the Octagon Saturday night for the UFC on FX 7 event, they first needed to step onto the scales on Friday.
Outside of C.J. Keith coming in at 157 pounds, the weigh-ins went down without a hitch. Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping nearly came to blows at the press conference earlier this week but were able to tone it down for the weigh-ins.
That’s not to say that the two men exchanged some choice words, but a physical altercation never took place.
Bisping has been fired up heading into his contest with Belfort as he knows a lot is on the line. The Englishman has been guaranteed that if he can defeat Belfort, a future UFC title shot is in the cards for Bisping.
Belfort is coming off a loss but that was against UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Belfort came the closest to finishing Jones and to date has been the only UFC fighter to put the champion in any danger.
Prior to stepping up on short notice to face Jones, Belfort had won two straight bouts with both ending inside the first round.
The card’s co-main event features another explosive Brazilian, as Daniel Sarafian takes on C.B. Dollaway.
Sarafian was originally supposed to compete in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil but suffered an injury leading up to his UFC 147 bout. Sarafian looked to be one of the more complete fighters who competed on the show and was the favorite to win the competition.
Dollaway is a TUF veteran as well, losing in the finale to Amir Sadollah. The former All-American wrestler at Arizona State University has gone 6-3 in his UFC tenure, but hasn’t been able to win any big name fights.
Also featured on the card is a heavyweight showdown between Ben Rothwell and Gabriel Gonzaga.
Rothwell, a former IFL and Affliction Entertainment veteran, made his UFC debut at UFC 104 and was summarily dominated by future world champion Cain Velasquez. Since joining the UFC’s ranks, Rothwell has alternated wins and losses, but looked great in his last outing against Brendan Schaub.
Gonzaga first competed in the UFC back at UFC 56 and is no stranger to the Octagon. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt earned a title shot against Randy Couture, but since then has been stuck at gatekeeper status in the division.
After a brief retirement from the sport, Gonzaga has won two-straight bouts including a first round submission against Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 142.
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