The MMA Gods very nearly took another one.
Daniel Cormier will defend his UFC light heavyweight title against Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson on Saturday night at UFC 210, but it very, very nearly fell through.
In the first numbered UFC event since 209 where weigh-in-day drama saw Khabib Nurmagomedov hospitalised and his fight with Tony Ferguson called off, Dana White would have been hoping for a smooth and uneventful day... He did not get his wish.
As the time for official weigh-ins was getting very close to elapsing, it became apparent that neither Cormier or Johnson had arrived.
With under 10 minutes left, Daniel Cormier arrived and weighted in at 206.2 pounds putting him over the limit of 205. The champ then returned with 3 minutes left and weighed in at 205 in a miraculous turn of events.
Finally, Rumble Johnson arrived with just one minute left and weighed in at 203 pounds.
Ariel Helwani and MMAFighting.com were live and caught all the drama as it unfolded. (Skip to the final 10 minutes for the madness)
44 minutes left. DC and Rumble yet to weigh in. The drama, it builds. We're live right now: https://t.co/phmvPTkDR0
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 7, 2017
15 mins to go. 3 fighters left: Gonzalez, Rumble and Cormier. We're live: https://t.co/phmvPTkDR0
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 7, 2017
DC weighs 206.2
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 7, 2017
1 minute to go for Rumble. https://t.co/phmvPTkDR0
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 7, 2017
Cormier is back. 205!!! https://t.co/phmvPTkDR0
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 7, 2017
What an unbelievable roller coaster ride of emotions that was. 4 minutes we'll never forget. Everyone so relieved right now. Wow.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 7, 2017
That was close. Too close.
Another high-profile fight falling through at the last minute would have been a disaster for the UFC, but now we're left to wait and see what impact this weight-cut with have on the fighters, who put a lot of strain on their body to keep this fight alive.
