Ceremonial weigh-ins scrapped for next week's UFC Fight Night 102 event in New York

For the first time since almost universally adopting a new process for official event weigh-ins, the UFC will not host a ceremonial session later in the day.

UFC officials recently revealed that there will be no ceremonial weigh-in session at next week’s “UFC Fight Night 102: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov” event, which takes place Dec. 9 at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.

Instead, according to UFC officials, “portions of the official weigh-in, currently scheduled for 9-11 a.m. ET, will be taped and posted to UFC.com and UFC Fight Pass later the same day.”

Beginning with this past summer’s UFC 199 event, UFC officials have adopted a new “early” or official weigh-in process, which allows athletes a two-hour window in which to hit the scales. The sessions are held early in the morning, giving fighters additional time to rehydrate in an effort to improve fighter health and safety.

For the most part, the new process has become the promotion’s standard operating procedure throughout the world, with commissions around the globe adopting the same process. This past weekend’s UFC Fight Night 101 event in Australia provided a rare exception, with the official weigh-ins taking place in ceremonial fashion in a combined session necessitated by the early morning local start time of the event.

“As UFC, in conjunction with the respective State Athletic Commissions, continues to look at opportunities to improve athlete health and safety and provide better weight management opportunities, it will also review its current weigh-in event format,” a statement from UFC officials reads. “As such, the official New York State Athletic Commission weigh-in for ‘UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov’ will be the only weigh-in event in Albany.”

“UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis” takes place one day after UFC Fight Night 102, likely factoring into the company’s decision, as well.

While the night’s complete bout order has yet to be established, the UFC Fight Night 102 lineup now includes:

• Derrick Lewis vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov
• Anthony Hamilton vs. Francis Ngannou
• Patrick Cummins vs. Gian Villante
• Corey Anderson vs. Sean O’Connell
• Justine Kish vs. Ashley Yoder
• Randy Brown vs. Brian Camozzi
• Joe Gigliotti vs. Gerald Meerschaert
• Andrew Sanchez vs. Trevor Smith
• Shane Burgos vs. Tiago Trator
• Marc Diakiese vs. Frankie Perez
• Keith Berish vs. Ryan Janes
• Juliana Lima vs. opponent TBA

For more on UFC Fight Night 102, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.