UFC 131 weigh-in: Top heavyweights set for quick, explosive bout

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, June 10, 2011 | 3:40 p.m.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Junior dos Santos did his best Georges St. Pierre impression at Friday’s UFC 131 weigh-in.

After dos Santos weighed in at 239 pounds for his heavyweight main event bout against Shane Carwin (254), he addressed the crowd the same way Georges St. Pierre did at UFC 129 in Toronto.

“Just remember guys,” dos Santos said. “Don’t blink.”

Although St. Pierre won a unanimous decision in that fight, he didn’t live up to his prophecy of a quick finish. Dos Santos’ fight should have an easier time in that regard.

No one expects to see a decision Saturday, including Carwin.

“You get to see two great heavyweights go at it and someone is going to get knocked out,” Carwin said. “It’s not going to be me.”

The packed crowd that turned out at Jack Poole Plaza, home of the city’s Olympic cauldron, gave dos Santos and Carwin an equal amount of applause. That wasn’t the case in the co-main event.

Kenny Florian, who weighed 146 pounds to make his fight at a fourth different weight class official, became a public enemy when he took the stage wearing a Boston Bruins jersey. The Bruins are currently locked in a fierce series for the Stanley Cup with the Vancouver Canucks and Florian, a Boston native, didn’t want to hide his allegiance.

Florian’s opponent, Diego Nunes (145), perhaps saw it as an opportunity to pick up some local support and walked to the stage in a Vancouver Canucks jersey. Nunes, who is from Brazil, played to the crowd by waving his arms and received a loud reception.

All 24 fighters made weight and kept their stare-down photos friendly. Lightweights Sam Stout and Yves Edwards best represented the tone of the event.

Edwards (155) ate a couple of Oreos while on the scale and shared with Stout (155) after he also made weight. Edwards vs. Stout is the final fight before the pay-per-view, which begins at 6 p.m. from Rogers Arena. The preliminary card will begin to air on UFC’s Facebook fan page at 2:50 p.m. and switch to Spike at 5 p.m.

Check below for full results from the UFC 131 weigh-in.

Heavyweight Bout: Junior dos Santos (239) vs. Shane Carwin (254)

Featherweight Bout: Kenny Florian (146) vs. Diego Nunes (145)

Middleweight Bout: Demian Maia (186) vs. Mark Munoz (186)

Heavyweight Bout: Jon Olav Einemo (261) vs. Dave Herman (233)

Lightweight Bout: Donald Cerrone (155) vs. Vagner Rocha (155)

Lightweight Bout: Yves Edwards (155) vs. Sam Stout (155)

Middleweight Bout: Jesse Bongfeldt (185) vs. Chris Weidman (186)

Light Heavyweight Bout: Krzysztof Soszynski (205) vs. Mike Massenzio (201)

Middleweight Bout: Nick Ring (185) vs. James Head (186)

Featherweight Bout: Dustin Poirier (146) vs. Jason Young (145)

Heavyweight Bout: Joey Beltran (247) vs. Aaron Rosa (261)

Featherweight Bout: Michihiro Omigawa (145) vs. Darren Elkins (145)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.