UFC Vegas 115 promises serious fireworks in terms of its lineup. But before the event takes place at the Apex this weekend, it has already faced a major setback. During the weigh-ins, three fighters missed the mark on the scale, inviting punishment from Dana White and Co.  

Darrius Flowers, Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, and Rafael Estevam missed weight ahead of fight night.

At first, the UFC Vegas 115 weigh-ins went smoothly until Flowers stepped on the scale. After he came in over the lightweight limit, ‘Beast Mode’ attempted a second weigh-in using the privacy box, but the effort proved futile as he registered 156.5 pounds, half a pound over the non-title fight limit. On the other hand, his opponent, Lando Vannata, successfully made weight 156 lbs.

In all fairness, Flowers does not have much history of missing weight, which made the situation surprising for fans. However, Estevam drew even more concern as he once again failed to hit the mark. The Brazilian weighed in at 136.5 pounds, missing the bantamweight limit by 0.5 pounds, marking his third weight miss in the UFC.

For context, Estevam failed to make the 126-pound limit for his UFC debut, coming in two pounds over (128 pounds) against Charles Johnson in 2023. Then the following year, he missed weight by four pounds (130 pounds) for his bout against Felipe Bunes. Following those misses, the UFC ended the undefeated fighter’s run at flyweight. Yet, he repeated the issue in a higher weight class, which makes it even more unexpected. That said, his opponent, Ethyn Ewing, successfully hit the scale at 135.5 pounds.

Lastly, Yakhyaev missed the light heavyweight limit of 206 pounds by one pound, weighing in at 207 pounds against Brendson Ribeiro, who came in at 205.5 pounds. This was also the first time the Turkish weighed heavier than the limit in pro-MMA bouts. Later, Yakhyaev ended up cutting the last pound on the second attempt and won’t be fined.  

With two fighters missing weight at UFC Vegas 115, the promotion has fined Flowers and Estvam 20% of their purse for missing weight by 0.5 pounds.  Now, as the three fighters are waiting for the punishment to arrive, let’s take a look at the fighters who hit the scale without much problem.   

UFC Vegas 115: Renato Moicano and Chris Duncan make the headliner official  

At this weekend’s fight night event, Renato Micano is the star of the show, who’s pitted against a formidable Chris Duncan. As we know, the Brazilian is coming off two losses against Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush, so he’s desperately looking for a win, and that’s why he didn’t leave any stone unturned at the weigh-ins, coming in right at 156 lbs.

On the flip side, the Scottish powerhouse is on a four-fight winning streak, and he’ll be eyeing Moicano’s ranking next. For that reason, Duncan also came in right at the lightweight non-title limit of 156 lbs. Moreover, in the co-main event, ex-title challenger Virna Jandiroba made the strawweight limit of 116 lbs, while her opponent, Tabatha Ricci, weighed half a pound less at 115.5 lbs.

The following are the results of fighters for the UFC Vegas 115 main card weigh-ins: 

• Renato Moicano (156 lbs) vs. Chris Duncan (156 lbs)  
• Virna Jandiroba (116 lbs) vs. Tabatha Ricci (115.5 lbs)
• Brendson Ribeiro (205.5 lbs) vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev (207 – missed) 
• Rafael Estevam (136.5 lbs – missed) vs. Ethyn Ewing (135.5 lbs) 
• Tommy McMillen (145.5 lbs) vs. Manolo Zecchini (145 lbs) 
• Jose Delano (144.5 lbs) vs. Robert Ruchala (146 lbs)  

With this weekend’s Apex event’s weigh-ins done, what do you think about the entire event? Let us know in the comments section below.