CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- There was a bit of drama when Daniel Cormier weighed in this time. But there was no controversy.
The UFC light heavyweight champion was the final competitor to step on the scales at the official UFC 220 weigh-ins on Friday morning at the Royal Sonesta Hotel.
Cormier, who meets Volkan Oezdemir on Saturday night at TD Garden in Boston, showed up to the scales at 10:40 a.m. local time, 20 minutes before the deadline for the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission-run event. Cormier arrived 24 minutes after the second-to-last fighter who showed up, Francis Ngannou.
But that’s where the drama ended. With a pair of commission employees holding up a towel, a gaunt-looking Cormier hit the championship weight limit at 205 as his teammates let out a cheer. Oezdemir also weighed in at 205.
This isn’t the first time Cormier, who turns 39 in March, had difficulty making the light heavyweight division’s 205-pound limit for championship fights.
Last April, at UFC 210 in Buffalo, Cormier weighed in on his first attempt at 206.2. Minutes later, he re-weighed in at exactly 205. But he also held on to the towel placed in front of him for leverage, an old-school trick amateur wrestlers use to make weight.
At Wednesday’s open workouts, Cormier said he had no plans on going back to heavyweight, where he had his first 13 career bouts. Cormier looked noticeably tired and worn down at Thursday’s media day at Fenway Park.
All 22 fighters competing at UFC 220 made weight on their first attempt, including the main eventers, heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic (246) and challenger Francis Ngannou (263).
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