After a violent night unfolded in Sacramento last Saturday, the UFC is heading to Shanghai this weekend on August 29 with a stacked Fight Night card. Thirteen fights are scheduled to take place at the Oriental Sports Center across multiple weight divisions. But before the event even gets underway, the weigh-ins have already created some chaos, with three fighters missing weight, two of whom have thankfully escaped any immediate punishment.
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The three fighters who missed weight are Andre Lima, who weighed in at 127 lbs, missing the non-title flyweight limit of 126 pounds for his bout against Namsrai Batbayar, who successfully made weight. The other two fighters, Jingnan Xiong and her opponent Julia Polastri, both missed the strawweight limit of 116 lbs. During the official weigh-ins, Polastri weighed 118.5 lbs, while Xiong came in at 117 lbs.
As a result of missing weight, Andre Lima will forfeit 20% of his purse to his opponent, Batbayar, but their scheduled bout will go ahead as planned. However, both Jing Nan and Polastri escaped any immediate punishment since both failed to make weight against each other. Despite the unusual double miss, their fight will also proceed at UFC Shanghai, although it remains unclear whether the promotion will hand down any additional punishment, like docking a part of their purse.
When it comes to two fighters missing weight while scheduled to face each other, this is nothing new. Earlier this year, Eduarda Moura and her opponent Wang Cong both missed the non-title flyweight limit of 126 pounds at UFC Vegas 113 in February. Moura weighed 127 pounds, while Wang came in 1.5 lbs over the limit. At the time too, the UFC chose not to penalize either fighter since both had missed weight.
In the case of Andre Lima, the Brazilian’s latest weight miss is not entirely surprising.
Re: the #UFCShanghai weight misses. Both bouts affected will proceed Andre Lima forfeits 20% of purse to Namsrai Batbayar No fines listed for Xiong Jingnan or Julia Polastri. I believe it’s a wash as they both missed
The flyweight previously weighed 130 lbs, missing the 126-pound flyweight limit by four pounds, ahead of his bout against Mitch Raposo at UFC 302 in June 2024. This marks the second time Lima has missed weight and subsequently paid the price for it.
But for Polastri, this is the first time she has tipped the scales, and there’s not much history of her struggling to make weight. However, Polastri’s opponent this weekend has had some trouble making weight in the past. Well, sort of.
Ahead of her special-rules bout against Jaroonsak at ONE Fight Night 14 in September 2023, Jingnan Xiong failed to meet the promotion’s hydration requirement twice, which ultimately forced the bout to be moved to catchweight. Following that mishap, the Chinese strawweight also issued an apology to her fans.
Though three fighters missing weight have created some chaos ahead of UFC Shanghai, most of the high-stakes bouts remain intact, with all headliners successfully making weight.
UFC Shanghai weigh-ins: Main card fighters who hit their marks
Indeed, UFC Shanghai features multiple high-stakes matchups, but none is more important than the final fight of the night. There’s a reason why Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong are headlining the card. The winner of this fight will move closer to a title shot, potentially becoming the next in line after Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili settle their trilogy at UFC 333.
For that reason, both the Russian and Chinese fighters left no stone unturned in preparation. Nurmagomedov hit the scales at 135.5 pounds, while Yadong weighed in at 136 pounds, hitting the mark perfectly and making the main event official.
Following them, the co-main event fighters also didn’t disappoint. Like Yadong, former UFC strawweight title challenger Yan Xiaonan will face Denise Gomes in the co-headliner, with both fighters making weight at 115.5 and 115 pounds, respectively.
Then comes another star of the event, Kai Asakura, who’ll face a veteran this weekend in the form of Aori Qileng. The former flyweight champion will continue his quest in the bantamweight division as he weighed in at 135.5 pounds for his next fight.
Meanwhile, the Chinese veteran also made 135.5 pounds and will look to give Asakura, a former RIZIN champion, a stern challenge and put an end to his lackluster run.
The other main card fighters who successfully made weight are:
- Su Mudaerji (125 lbs) vs. Alex Perez (126 lbs)
- Ce Liu (206 lbs) vs. Levi Rodrigues Jr. (206 lbs)
- Bilal Hasan (124.5 lbs) vs. Nilson Rojas (124.5 lbs)
Now that the UFC Shanghai weigh-ins are complete, all 13 fights remain intact despite the changes caused by the missed weights. However, fighters who miss weight will face more than just a financial penalty, as they can also lose eligibility for performance bonuses even if they score a finish.