Aleksandre Topuria and his opponent, Colby Thicknesse, both successfully weighed in for their upcoming fight at UFC 312, with each coming in at 135.5 pounds. This means that the fight, scheduled to take place on Sunday at 2:00 am, is now officially confirmed. Both fighters have a small margin of up to 136 pounds, or 62.7 kilos, which they can use if needed.
Prior to the weigh-in, members of Topuria’s team had expressed confidence that everything would go smoothly, and they were proven correct. Topuria was one of the first fighters to arrive at the UFC scale in Sydney, where he was accompanied by his usual entourage, including his brother Ilia Topuria. Ilia, also known as “The Matador,” was waiting with Jesús Gallo to support Aleksandre during the weighing process and to help him with rehydration and weight recovery afterwards.
As the fight approaches, there is interest in how much Aleksandre will be able to recover and regain his strength after the weigh-in. Given that the fight will take place at 12:00 local time on Sunday, rather than on Saturday night, Topuria will have a bit more time to rest and prepare. This could give him an advantage, as he will be able to get more sleep and allow his body to recover from the effects of weight loss.
According to Aleksandre, rest will be more important than rehydration in the lead-up to the fight. In an interview earlier this week, he noted that “more than rehydration, it’s going to be the rest because they are two nights. On that side and for everything we have analyzed, the body will be able to rest better.” He also expressed confidence in his team’s ability to help him prepare and recover, saying “we have professional people working on the team, so we are more than cared for.”
In addition to Topuria’s fight, the other main events at UFC 312 also appear to be going ahead as planned. The two title fights, featuring Du Plessis vs Strickland and Weili Zhang vs Tatiana Suárez, saw all fighters successfully make weight, paving the way for an exciting day of competition on Sunday.