UFC 146 weigh-in: Heavyweights in good spirits for packed crowd

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, May 25, 2012 | 6:30 p.m.

Fighters typically dread weigh-ins more than any other experience during a UFC week.

Starving and dehydrated in order to reach the weight limit, they can’t wait to step on the scale and get it all over with. The process is less arduous when it comes to heavyweights.

The vast majority of the big guys can easily make the 265-pound limit without cutting any weight. With an all-heavyweight main card for the first time in promotional history at UFC 146, Friday’s festivities may go down as the most joyous weigh-in ever.

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, who meets Cain Velasquez in the co-main event, was the only fighter who had to cut weight on the pay-per-view card. Silva started his training camp at about 300 pounds but weighed in at 264 in front of a packed crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Silva appropriately gave the most intense stare down photo. He glared into Velasquez’s eyes and received a roar from the fans. Silva shook Velasquez’s hand so hard afterward that the former champion nearly lost his balance.

Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and No. 1 contender Frank Mir kept more of a distance. Mir (261) will have a 22-pound advantage on dos Santos (239) when they enter the cage for their main event showdown.

“It’s going to be a knockout, one more,” dos Santos said. “Second round.”

Mir, a Las Vegas native, has predicted a first-round submission victory all week. He appeared to stick to those feelings at the weigh-in.

“Both of us are first-round fighters,” Mir said. “We finish quick. I think it’s going to be a fast, explosive fight.”

The opposite of Silva, Dave Herman (233) came in as the smallest heavyweight, despite weighing in with jeans on. Local product Roy Nelson (254) will look to use his size effectively against Herman.

A couple preliminary-card fighters, Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Kyle Kingsbury, had peculiar wardrobe choices. Miler had a pink boom box, boa and sunglasses as he walked onto the stage.

He threw the boa around octagon girl Arianny Celeste’s neck before taking the scale. Miller (185) and opponent C.B. Dollaway (186) did not shake hands after posing for a photo, as their contest may contain the most bad blood on the card.

Kingsbury also went with the pink theme. He wore a pink Scooby-Doo shirt that read “Hug Me” with a fanny pack before stripping down to a pink Speedo and, ultimately, a red wrestling singlet.

Read below for full results from the UFC 146 weigh-in.

Heavyweight Championship Bout: Junior dos Santos (239) vs. Frank Mir (261)

Heavyweight Bout: Cain Velasquez (240) vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (264)

Heavyweight Bout: Roy Nelson (254) vs. Dave Herman (233)

Heavyweight Bout: Stipe Miocic (245) vs. Shane del Rosario (246)

Heavyweight Bout: Stefan Struve (255) vs. Lavar Johnson (248)

Featherweight Bout: Diego Brandao (145) vs. Darren Elkins (145)

Lightweight Bout: Edson Barboza (155) vs. Jamie Varner (156)

Middleweight Bout: Jason Miller (185) vs. C.B. Dollaway (186)

Welterweight Bout: Dan Hardy (170) vs. Duane Ludwig (171)

Lightweight Bout: Jacob Volkmann (155) vs. Paul Sass (156)

Light Heavyweight Bout: Kyle Kingsbury (205) vs. Glover Teixeira (204)

Featherweight Bout: Mike Brown (145) vs. Daniel Pineda (146)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.