Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 | 6 p.m.
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Dana White may need to ice his forearms ahead of Saturday night’s UFC 181.
They’re certain to feel sore otherwise after fighters forced the UFC president to exert the muscles at Friday afternoon’s weigh-in. White had to push opponents in three of the final four fights at the top of the UFC 181 card away from each other during staredowns after they made weight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Testosterone flowed through the parched warriors — all of whom came in on weight to make the entire card official — and toward their enemies, with White as the only levee.
The hostility culminated in the co-main event, the first of two title fights, when lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (154.5) and top contender Gilbert Melendez (155) jawed inches away from each other’s faces. The two had kept their face-offs civil for 10 months since their bout was first announced, but Friday’s bordered on creating a real conflict.
As Melendez bobbed side to side, Pettis mouthed some words including what looked like a threat about how badly he planned to beat the challenger up.
“It’s the most important fight of my life right here,” Melendez said in his final comments. “Anthony Pettis is a dangerous guy but I ain’t scared of him at all.”
Pettis’ words were hardly audible with surprising boos raining down. The challenger also garnered the support in the main event as Robbie Lawler (170) received the bulk of the cheers ahead of his second shot at welterweight champion Johny Hendricks (170).
“I’m excited about this fight but the talk is over,” Lawler told the crowd. “Let’s do this.”
Hendricks and Lawler shared an intense staredown, but the crowd treated it as a letdown as compared to what came before. The loudest roar came when heavyweights Travis Browne (245) and Brendan Schaub (244) shared a few tense moments.
Browne howled loud enough to drown out the blaring bass-heavy background music after making weight and immediately headed toward Schaub. He never stopped.
White had to show off his strength to keep the two separated as Browne and his coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, yelled at Schaub, who at one point nearly slipped off the stage.
The heavyweights who came before Browne and Schaub, Todd Duffee (236.5) and Anthony Hamilton (256) weren’t cordial either. Hamilton leaned his head in and glared at the stoic Duffee.
There were lighter moments before the headliners. “The Ultimate Fighter” 19 winner Corey Anderson (204.5), who meets newcomer Justin Jones (204.5), executed what might be the first weigh-in selfie in UFC history with White smiling alongside.
Longtime WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber (135.5) got as strong of a reaction as normal when he came out after opponent Francisco Rivera (135).
Faber and Rivera are the final fight on the Fox Sports 1 televised preliminary card before the pay-per-view, which shapes up as explosive if it follows the lead of the weigh-in.
Check below for full results from the UFC 181 weigh-in.
Welterweight championship bout: Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Robbie Lawler (170)
Lightweight championship bout: Anthony Pettis (154.5) vs. Gilbert Melendez (155)
Heavyweight bout: Travis Browne (245) vs. Brendan Schaub (244)
Heavyweight bout: Todd Duffee (236.5) vs. Anthony Hamilton (256)
Lightweight bout: Tony Ferguson (156) vs. Abel Trujillo (156)
Bantamweight bout: Urijah Faber (135.5) vs. Francisco Rivera (135)
Middleweight bout: Eddie Gordon (185.5) vs. Josh Samman (185.5)
Light heavyweight bout: Corey Anderson (204.5) vs. Justin Jones (204.5)
Women’s bantamweight bout: Raquel Pennington (136) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (135.5)
Bantamweight bout: Sergio Pettis (135) vs. Matt Hobar (136)
Featherweight bout: Alex White (145.5) vs. Clay Collard (146)
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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