Paul Cheng might have taken Friday’s fight with Brandon Vera on just a week’s notice, but he had no problem making the 265-pound limit for the fight.Their bout for the inaugural heavyweight title headlines the ONE: Spirit of Champions event in Manila.
UFC veteran Vera (12-7-0-1) has spent much of his career competing at light heavyweight but he tipped the scales at 247.5 pounds. Cheng (5-1) was expected to be significantly bigger than the Fil-Am fighter, but he came in only slightly heavier at 250 pounds.
In the co-main event, Mark Striegl (14-1) faces Reece McLaren (7-3), who, like Cheng, stepped up to take this fight at relatively short notice. Both men came in comfortably under the bantamweight limit with the Filipino weighing 134.4 pounds and the Australian 134 pounds.
The flyweight bout between Geje Eustaquio and Yang Jiang Bing was scrapped, as the Chinese flyweight was unable to make weight. ONE: Spirit of Champions is being broadcast live across Asia by Fox Sports and is available to purchase for $9.99 USD from http://www.ONEPPV.com.
ONE: Spirit of Champions Weigh-in Results
MAIN EVENT
ONE Heavyweight World Championship bout: Brandon Vera (112.3kg/247.5lbs) vs. Paul Cheng (113.4kg/250.0lbs)
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight bout: Mark Striegl (61.0kg/134.4lbs) vs. Recce McLaren (60.8kg/134.0lbs)
Flyweight bout: Eugene Toquero (56.7kg/125.0lbs) vs. Li Wei Bin (56.6kg/124.5lbs)
Flyweight bout: Ana Julaton (56.7kg/125.0 lbs) vs. Irina Mazepa (56.4kg/124.0lbs)
Strawweight bout: Angela Lee (51.9kg/114.0lbs) vs. Lena Tkhorevska (51.8kg/114.0lbs)
UNDERCARD
Featherweight bout: Bruno Pucci (65.7kg/144.5lbs) vs. Anthony Engelen (65.4kg/144.0lbs)
Flyweight bout: Alex Silva (56.4kg/124.0lbs) vs. Ruel Catalan (56.2kg/123.5lbs)
Featherweight bout: Christian Lee (65.3kg/143.0lbs) vs. David Meak (65.1kg/143.5lbs)