REPLAY UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos weigh-ins
All fighters but one successfully made weight on their first attempts Friday afternoon in Dallas. Lightweight Daron Cruickshank missed the lightweight non-title mark by 1.5 pounds and will have a couple of hours to get down to 156 pounds. Other than that, the weigh-ins went seamlessly, even for former Olympic wrestling champion Henry Cejudo, who proved that he can indeed make the flyweight title limit by weighing in at an even 125 pounds against Chris Cariaso.
Welterweight contenders Johny Hendricks and Matt Brown were respectful of one another but stared each other down after weighing in. Strawweight title challenger Joanna Jedrzejczk was her typical mix of sweet and sping-tingling terrifying, as she handed champion Carla "Cookie Monster" Esparza a cookie, smiled and shook her hand before crouching low and getting in her grill with her patented super villain death-sneer.
Explaining why she gave Esparza a cookie, the challenger out of Poland said: "She likes. I want to be nice. I still have respect to her. She's the champion." That said, Jedrzejczk is still confident that she'll win an exciting bout.
"Tomorrow, we are going to give a good fight to all of you. I'm going to be a new champion," she promised.
Esparza only beamed and offered her own assurance. "I'm so excited," she said.
"I just want to prove without a doubt that I'm No. 1."
The main event fighters, lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and challenger Rafael Dos Anjos, said not a word to each other while facing off, but neither man was looking to break the stern gaze, either.
After separating, Dos Anjos told interviewer Joe Rogan that "[God] gave me this opportunity; I'm going to take it."
Pettis, of course, was not so easily convinced, saying: "[He's] just another guy I've got to beat up, man. ...This dude is getting knocked out. He ain't got a chance against me."
MAIN CARD ON PAY-PER-VIEW (SAT. 10 P.M. ET):
Anthony Pettis (155) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (155)
Carla Esparza (115) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczk (115)
Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Matt Brown (171)
Roy Nelson(254) vs. Alistair Overeem (247)
Chris Cariaso (126) vs. Henry Cejudo (125)
PRELIMS ON FX (SAT. 8 P.M. ET):
Ross Pearson (156) vs. Sam Stout (156)
Elias Theodorou (186) vs. Roger Navarez (186)
Daron Cruickshank (157.5) vs. Beneil Dariush (156)
Jared Rosholt (245) vs. Josh Copeland (264)
EARLY PRELIMS ON UFC FIGHT PASS (SAT. 6:30 P.M. ET):
Sergio Pettis (126) vs. Ryan Benoit (126)
Jake Lindsey (156) vs. Joseph Duffy (156)
Larissa Pacheco (136) vs. Germaine de Randamie (136)
