HOUSTON -- The last hurdle has been cleared, now the decade's biggest heavyweight trilogy is ready to be settled. Amid a rowdy crowd at Houston's Toyota Center, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos both met their required weight during Thursday's UFC 166 weigh-ins.
An overwhelming crowd favorite, reigning heavyweight champion Velasquez tipped the scales at 241 pounds. Dos Santos, the former titleholder who lost his belt to Velasquez in brutal fashion last year, came in one pound lighter, hitting his mark at 240 pounds.
"I'm here to give you guys one more knockout," dos Santos said under a hail of boos.
Velasquez and dos Santos' history stretches back to late-2011, when the ferocious Brazilian challenger stunned Velasquez with a first-round knockout to punctuate the UFC's first appearance on FOX. However Velasquez returned the favor 13 months later, brutalizing dos Santos over five lopsided rounds to seize back his title.
Now the pair look to settle their differences in Saturday night's grudge match.
"He's a tough dude and I expect this fight to be tougher than the second," Velasquez said. "That's what I trained for. That's what I'm ready for."
In the night's co-main event, Velasquez's friend and teammate Daniel Cormier hit the scales at 224, the lightest weight of his career.
To avoid a showdown with Velasquez, Cormier pledged to cut down to light heavyweight following the weekend. But first he must get through Roy Nelson, a top-10 heavyweight in his own right who weighed in at a trim 249 pounds.
On the undercard, UFC newcomer Andre Fili missed the featherweight limit by 2.5 pounds. As a result, 20-percent of Fili's purse will be forfeited to his opponent, Jeremy Larsen.
UFC 166 takes place October 19, 2013 at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. Complete UFC 166 weigh-in results can be seen below.
Main card (Pay-per-view)
Cain Velasquez (241) vs. Junior dos Santos (240)
Daniel Cormier (224) vs. Roy Nelson (249)
Gilbert Melendez (156) vs. Diego Sanchez (156)
Gabriel Gonzaga (257) vs. Shawn Jordan (255)
John Dodson (125) vs. Darrell Montague (126)
Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)
Tim Boetsch (186) vs. C.B. Dollaway (186)
Nate Marquardt (171) vs. Hector Lombard (169)
Sarah Kaufman (135) vs. Jessica Eye (135)
George Sotiropoulos (155) vs. K.J. Noons (156)
Preliminary card (Facebook/YouTube)
T.J. Waldburger (170.5) vs. Adlan Amagov (171)
Tony Ferguson (155) vs. Mike Rio (156)
Jeremy Larsen (145.5) vs. Andre Fili (148.5)*
Dustin Pague (135) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (135)
*Will forfeit 20-percent of his purse
Tags: brandon marshall brandon jacobs al jazeera
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