Final Four Set, Gouveia Off Weight for TUF Finale

The clock is running down for the four finalists of this season’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” who meet Saturday at the Pearl inside The Palms Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas to determine which two will walk away with multi-year, six-figure UFC contracts.

Lightweights Phillipe Nover and Efrain Escudero hit the scales Friday to make their final hurdle before taking to the Octagon. Nover (6-0-1), the favorite to take it all, weighed in at 155 pounds. The undefeated Escudero (11-0) was 156 pounds.

In the light heavyweight final, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Vinicius Magalhaes (3-2-1) came in at 205 pounds. Ryan Bader (8-0), a two-time Div. I wrestler at Arizona State University, also weighed in at the 205-pound mark.

Also among the 16-man cast assembled to compete, semifinalist Krzysztof Soszynski (16-9-1) will test his striking prowess against the much less seasoned Shane Primm (1-0), a jiu-jitsu purple belt. Soszynski and Primm weighed in at 205 and 202 pounds.

Garnering a lot of added attention for his behavior outside the cage just as much for what he accomplishes in it, resident rebel rouser Junie Allen Browning (2-1) took to the scales at 171 pounds. Frank Mir-trained opponent Dave Kaplan (3-1) came in at 171 pounds as well. The lightweight contest will be featured on the main card on Spike TV, beginning at 9 p.m. EST/PST.

In non-TUF fare, Jason MacDonald (184) and Wilson Gouveia (189) will meet at a catch weight of 189 pounds, while lightweights Anthony Johnson (171) and Kevin Burns (171) rematch a controversial July tussle in which Burns won via third-round TKO after Johnson was unintentionally poked in the eye.

According to UFC.com, the NSAC would not allow Gouveia to weigh in a second time for safety reasons after he missed the 186-pound cutoff in his first try. Gouveia will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to MacDonald.

“The Ultimate Fighter 8” Weigh-In Results

Efrain Escudero (156) vs. Phillipe Nover (155)
Vinicius Magalhaes (205) vs. Ryan Bader (205)
Wilson Gouveia (189) vs. Jason MacDonald (184)
Anthony Johnson (171) vs. Kevin Burns (171)
David Kaplan (156) vs. Junie Allen Browning (156)
Shane Primm (202) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (205)
Jules Bruchez (205) vs. Eliot Marshall (203)
George Roop (153) vs. Shane Nelson (156)
Tom Lawlor (204) vs. Kyle Kingsbury (205)
John Polakowski (152) vs. Roli Delgado (155)

Click here for weigh-in pictures