Our #UFCVegas98 main event is official ✅@BrandonRoyval hits the scale at 125.5lbs
[ Live TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus| 7pmET/4pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/21p2aAky9a
— UFC (@ufc) October 11, 2024
Editor’s note: The article was updated at 2:15 p.m. ET to reflect the cancelation of one bout.
After an electric pay-per-view event in Salt Lake City, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the UFC Apex for UFC Fight Night 244.
Headlining the 12-fight card is a five-round flyweight contest between former title challenger Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira. Both mixed martial artists came in under the 126-pound limit. However, the rest of the card wasn’t nearly as professional. Three fighters missed weight: Jared Gooden came in 1.5 pounds over the welterweight limit for his fight against Chidi Njokuani, Josh Fremd hit the scales in three pounds overweight for his middleweight fight against Abdul Razak Alhassan and Dan Argueta clocked in 2.5 pounds over for his flyweight fight against Lucas Rocha. As a result of the high weight miss, Fremd vs. Alhassan has been canceled. Meanwhile, Gooden has received a 20% fine of his purse and Argueta has been hit with a 20% fine as well.
This marks the second UFC main event for Royval, who is coming off a big split decision win over Brandon Moreno. “Raw Dawg” has now won four of his last five fights, with the lone defeat coming to champion Alexandre Pantoja. The 32-year-old will look to stay a top contender and officially weighed 125.5 pounds for the fight.
Meanwhile, this is the biggest test in the career of Taira (16-0). The undefeated fighter most recently defeated Alex Perez and Carlos Hernandez and has been perfect inside the Octagon so far. The 24-year-old will look to make a statement and a case for a possible title shot with a second straight win atop a UFC card. Taira stepped on the scale at 125.5 pounds.
UFC Fight Night 244 will air on ESPN+ in its entirety on Saturday. The main card starts at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, while the prelims kick off at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.
UFC Fight Night 244 Weigh-in Results:
Brandon Royval (125.5) vs. Tatsuro Taira (125.5)
Jun Yong Park (185.5) vs. Brad Tavares (185)
Jared Gooden (172.5)* vs. Chidi Njokuani (170.5)
Grant Dawson (156) vs. Rafa Garcia (154.5)
Alex Morono (170.5) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (170)
Abdul Razak Alhassan (186) vs. Josh Fremd (189)**
Ramazonbek Temirov (125.5) vs. C.J. Vergara (126)
Jonathan Pearce (145) vs. Pat Sabatini (145)
Themba Gorimbo (170.5) vs. Niko Price (170.5)
Sean Sharaf (252) vs. Junior Tafa (241)
Cory McKenna (115) vs. Julia Polastri (115)
Dan Argueta (138.5)*** vs. Cody Haddon (135)
Clayton Carpenter (125.5) vs. Lucas Rocha (125.5)
* Gooden missed weight by 1.5 pounds and will be fined 20% of his purse.
** Fremd missed weight by three pounds and the fight has been canceled.
*** Argueta missed weight by 2.5 pounds and will be fined 20% of his purse.
