LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 08: UFC President Dana White speaks to the media after the UFC 290 event at … [+]
UFC Vegas 101 is a move to Saturday, January 11, in Las Vegas at the Apex. As each fight is scheduled to take place, two fighters on the card will be fined a percentage of their purse for making weight.
Both Ihor Potieria and Jose Johnson lost weight tremendously. Potieria was two pounds over the middleweight limit, and Johnson missed weight by 2.5 pounds.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 10: Jose Johnson poses on the scales during the UFC Fight Night weigh-ins … [+]
Potieria will be fined 25 percent of his purse and this money will go to his opponent, Marco Tulio. Their fight is moving forward like a grappling weight.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 10: Ihor Potieria of Ukraine poses at the scales during UFC Fight … [+]
Johnson was fined 20 percent of his purse and those funds will go to his opponent, Felipe Bunes. Their fight will also be an attractive bantamweight bout.
Thankfully, the main event match between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas is intact as both women successfully made the strawweight limit.
Here’s a look at the entire card, including the weigh-in results:
- Mackenzie Dern (116) vs. Amanda Ribas (116)
- Santiago Ponzinibbio (171) vs. Carlston Harris (170)
- Abdul Razak Alhassan (185.5) vs. Cesar Almeida (185.5)
- Chris Curtis (185.5) vs. Roman Kopylov (185.5)
- Christian Rodriguez (145) vs. Austin Bashi (145.5)
- Uros Medic (171) vs. Punahele Soriano (171)
- Jose Johnson (128.5)* vs. Felipe Bunes (126)
- Marco Tulio (185.5) vs. Ihor Potieria (188)*
- Thiago Moises (155.5) vs. Trey Ogden (155.5)
- Preston Parsons (171) vs. Jacob Smith (170.5)
- Ernesta Kareckaite (126) vs. Nicolle Caliari (125.5)
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (205) vs. Bruno Lopes (205.5)
- Fatima Kline (116) vs. Victoria Dudakova (116)
- Nurullo Aliev (155.5) vs. Joe Solecki (155)
- (* Weight lost)
To put it plainly, both Potieria and Johnson are in dangerous places in terms of their UFC careers. Weight cuts and crushing performances in the Octagon are usually part of the trail leading to a fighter’s release.
Johnson, who is the rare 6-footer trying to compete at flyweight, missed weight for the first time in his UFC career. That said, Johnson is trying to drop down to 125 pounds after previously competing at bantamweight.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 15: (L-R) Asu Almabayev of Kazakhstan fights Jose Johnson in a flyweight … [+]
Johnson earned a spot on the UFC roster as a bantamweight in August 2022 at the Dana White Contender Series. Including that ranking win over Jack Cartwright, Johnson compiled a 2-1 record as a UFC bantamweight.
However, in June 2024, Johnson dropped down to flyweight to face tough contender Asu Almabayev. Johnson lost that fight by unanimous decision, setting up the scrap Saturday with Bunes.
Win or lose Saturday, Johnson will have to decide if he should continue to push through to make 125 pounds. The combination of another Octagon loss and a failure to make weight could be his ticket to release.
The plight of Potieria is perhaps a little more desperate.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 08: Ihor Potieria poses for a portrait during a UFC photo shoot at … [+]
Like Johnson, Potieria earned his spot on the roster with a Contender Series win over Łukasz Sudolski in September 2021. That win came as a lightweight.
After being knocked out in his main roster debut by Nicolae Negumereanu, Potieria picked up a win against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in January 2023. Since then, Potieria has lost four of five bouts, finishing in all but one of those defeat, and has now missed weight twice while trying to move up to middleweight.
If ever there was a fighter in a must-win situation on Saturday, it’s Potieria. If Potieria loses to Tulio on Saturday, don’t be surprised if he gets released next week.
Stay tuned for more UFC coverage on Saturday night as we welcome back the No. 1 promotion. 1 MMA in the world after a three-week hiatus.
