Israel Adesanya's fight with Alex Pereira is official after the challenger made weight just five minutes before the deadline after a gruelling cut from 232lb.
The champion Adesanya arrived on the scales at 185lb early in today's official weigh-in, but Pereira struggled to get down to 184.6lb after ballooning to well into heavyweight territory as recently as August. He shared a photo to social media showing himself on the scales at 105.6kg, which is just under 233lb, which is more than three stone over the middleweight limit.
New York Commission officials would have allowed him a further two hours to make the weight, but fortunately he was able to get in under the limit to confirm his bout with Adesanya. The meeting is just his eighth MMA fight, but he holds two victories over Adesanya in kick-boxing including a vicious knockout.
