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UFC 191 weigh-in: Heavyweights good-natured, flyweights squabble

All 11 fights on tomorrow’s card official as everyone makes weight

UFC 191 Weigh Ins at MGM Grand

L.E. Baskow

Andrei Arlovski, the No. 4 UFC heavyweight contender, and Frank Mir, the No. 10 UFC heavyweight contender, pose for an video during the UFC 191 weigh ins at the MGM Grand Casino on Friday, September 4, 2015.

UFC 191 Weigh-Ins at MGM Grand

Andrei Arlovski, the No. 4 UFC heavyweight contender, poses with silver fangs before the fans during the UFC 191 weigh ins at the MGM Grand Casino on Friday, September 4, 2015. Launch slideshow »

UFC 191 Media Day at MGM

Demetrious Johnson, the UFC flyweight champion, and opponent John Dodson, the No. 1 UFC flyweight contender, strike different poses during UFC 191 media day Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, at MGM Grand. Launch slideshow »

Their demeanors differed as drastically as their dimensions.

Former heavyweight champions Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir were friendly as they made weight for their UFC 191 co-main event Friday evening at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mir (266) even played along by making a face when Arlovski (237.5) ended their staredown by taking a selfie.

Flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and archrival John Dodson were fierce, feigning not a single sign of happiness when they faced off in a final encounter before their main event meeting tomorrow night. Dodson (125) stayed positioned in his pose staring straight ahead as Johnson (124.5) backed away.

Dodson had great admiration for Johnson before the first time they fought, when the champion won by unanimous decision, but his opinion has since soured. The weigh-in was more evidence of the deterioration of the relationship between the two best 125-pound fighters in the world.

“Everyone hates our division because of Demetrious Johnson,” Dodson said in a video shown at the weigh-in. “He’s so bland.”

The contrasts on a card that features the largest-ever split in headlining weight classes will continue on fight night, which begins at 4 p.m. tomorrow with the pay-per-view portion scheduled for 7. The pace of Arlovski vs. Mir will be deliberate with the big men expected to exchange heavy punches.

Johnson vs. Dodson figures to be frenetic with two of the quickest fighters in organizational history bounding around the octagon. Their first fight was dizzying to watch.

“The only thing that’s going to be different is I’m going to have my hand raised,” Dodson said in his last comments before the fight.

Johnson ignored Dodson, as he’s become accustomed to doing since the top contender has taken aim at him over the past couple years.

“First fight was a great fight,” Johnson said. “I’ve been training hard. I’ve had five consecutive title defenses (since beating Dodson) and I’ve had finishes in those so that’s what I’m going to do.”

The knock on Johnson, as alluded to by Dodson, is he can’t draw a large audience despite considerable talent that’s seen him win eight straight fights. There was evidence of that at the weigh-in, which was among the lightest attended in recent memory.

The sparse crowd did enliven for Mir, the Las Vegas native making his heavyweight record 26th appearance in the octagon. Several fans adorned in Bishop Gorman wrestling gear — Mir trains with the local high school team — erupted when Mir emerged from behind a curtain to take the stage.

Arlovski received a warm welcome too. The rest of the card more closely resembled the mood of the co-main event than the main event.

The fighters kept things affable, preventing any incidents. All 22 fighters also made weight, though middleweight veteran Joe Riggs (185.5) had to use a second attempt after coming 1.5 pounds heavy for his bout against Ron Stallings (184) initially.

Check below for full results from the UFC 191 weigh-in.

Flyweight championship bout: Demetrious Johnson (124.5) vs. John Dodson (125)

Heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski (237.5) vs. Frank Mir (266)

Light heavyweight bout: Anthony Johnson (205) vs. Jimi Manuwa (204)

Light heavyweight bout: Jan Blachowicz (205) vs. Corey Anderson (205)

Women’s strawweight bout: Paige VanZant (116) vs. Alex Chambers (115)

Lightweight bout: Ross Pearson (155.5) vs. Paul Felder (155.5)

Bantamweight bout: Francisco Rivera (136) vs. John Lineker (135.5)

Women’s bantamweight bout: Jessica Andrade (134.5) vs. Raquel Pennington (136)

Featherweight bout: Clay Collard (146) vs. Tiago Trator (146)

Middleweight bout: Joe Riggs (185.5) vs. Ron Stallings (184)

Featherweight bout:. Joaquim Silva (154.5) vs. Nazareno Malegarie (156)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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