When heavyweights top a promoter's bill, weigh-ins generally take on a casual air. That was the case Friday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, when Tim Sylvia (Pictures), Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), Frank Mir (Pictures) and Brock Lesnar (Pictures) all stepped on the scale in shape and ready to fight at UFC 81.
In the main event, Sylvia and Nogueira will compete for an interim title created in the aftermath of Randy Couture (Pictures)'s dispute with Zuffa. Each having stood at the pinnacle of their respective organizations -- Sylvia is twice UFC champion and Nogueira was the PRIDE king before Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) wrested the belt from him -- the heavyweight title bout is full of intrigue.
"It's going to be a big battle, a big war," Nogueira said after weighing 237 pounds. "I'm going to do my best and I want to have that belt tomorrow."
The giant Sylvia, who weighed a solid 261 pounds, expressed his admiration for "Minotauro."
"Nogueira's a stud," Sylvia said. "I've been watching him for a long time. He was actually fighting before I was fighting. I've been studying him forever. I just thought maybe someday I'd be fortunate enough to fight Nogueira. He's highly ranked in the rankings and he's a hell of a fighter. he's taken a lot of beatings and he always comes out on top every time he fights."
In the co-feature, the much hyped Lesnar gets his first taste of real mixed martial arts when he fights Mir, a former UFC heavyweight champion who is attempting to work his way back into contention following a serious motorcycle accident in 2004.
Asked to handicap the 265-pound Lesnar, Mir expected a "very explosive fighter using his athletic ability. The foundation is going to be like all the strong wrestlers that came out, the Randy Couture (Pictures)s, the Matt Hughes (Pictures). The use striking and submissions to compliment their strong wrestling base. That would be the smart thing to do."
Without the aid of WWE scriptwriters, Lesnar, a NCAA champion wrester for the University of Minnesota in the year 2000, was succinct: "The show is over. It's time to go. It's fight time. There's nothing else to say."
In the weigh-in's lone display of fireworks, Terry Martin (Pictures) and Marvin Eastman (Pictures) clashed after exiting the scale. Eastman appeared to get too close during the traditional staredown, which prompted Martin to one-hand shove the Las Vegas native in the chest. Eastman stepped forward to retaliate, but UFC President Dana White stepped in between the middleweights to break up the scuffle before it reached the point of no return.
Full Weigh-in results:
Tim Sylvia (Pictures) (261) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) (237)
Frank Mir (Pictures) (255) vs. Brock Lesnar (Pictures) (265)
Jeremy Horn (Pictures) (185) vs. Nathan Marquardt (Pictures) (185)
Rob Yundt (185) vs. Ricardo Almeida (Pictures) (185)
Gleison Tibau (Pictures) (156) vs. Tyson Griffin (155)
Chris Lytle (Pictures) (170) vs. Kyle Bradley (170)
David Heath (Pictures) (205) vs. Tim Boetsch (Pictures) (205)
Marvin Eastman (Pictures) (185) vs. Terry Martin (Pictures) (186)
Keita Nakamura (Pictures) (155) vs. Robert Emerson (Pictures) (155)
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