BARUERI, Sao Paulo, Brazil – MMAjunkie.com was on scene and reporting live from today’s UFC Fight Night 29 fighter weigh-ins, where all but one fighter made weight.
The festivities took place at Jose Correa Arena in Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil, the same site that hosts Wednesday’s event, which has a main card on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on the same channel.
In the main event, Brazil’s Demian Maia (18-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) meets former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields (28-6-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in what could wind up being an important fight in the welterweight division.
Both Maia and Shields were on target for the fight, with each weighing in at 171 pounds before their staredown.
In the co-main event, Erick Silva (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) takes on Dong Hyun Kim (17-2-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in another welterweight fight. Silva was 170 pounds on the nose, while Kim was 171.
Thiago Silva was the lone fighter to miss weight on his first attempt. The Brazilian came in at 208 pounds for his fight against Matt Hamill, who was 205. Silva was given one hour to cut to the light heavyweight maximum of 206 pounds with the one-pound non-title fight allowance. But, UFC officials told MMAjunkie.com, Silva was unable to drop enough weight after 45 minutes and elected to not re-weigh. Instead, the fight with Hamill will be at a 208-pound catchweight and Silva will forfeit 25 percent of his show money. While he now is ineligible for any fight-night bonus money, he will receive his full win bonus should he defeat Hamill.
To open the main card, bantamweight contenders T.J. Dillashaw (136) and Raphael Assuncao (136) each hit their marks. In his drop to welterweight, Rousimar Palhares (171) was good to go in his first cut to 170 to fight Mike Pierce (171). And light heayvweights Joey Beltran (205) and Fabio Maldonado (204) were on target.
The full UFC Fight Night 29 weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 7 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 2, 5 p.m. ET)
* Silva forfeits 25 percent of his show money to Hamill after not making weight.
For more on UFC Fight Night 29, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
(Pictured: Demian Maia)
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