LAS VEGAS – All the pre-fight activities are in the books for UFC Fight Night 217, the first UFC event of 2023, following Friday’s official weigh-ins and faceoffs.
A short-notice light heavyweight matchup between Nassourdine Imavov (12-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Sean Strickland (25-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) is the main event. Normally middleweights, Imavov and Strickland are fighting at 205 pounds after Strickland stepped in for the injured Kelvin Gastelum on just five days’ notice. Strickland also fought in the UFC’s last event of 2022 and lost in the UFC Fight Night 216 main event to Jared Cannonier.
At the conclusion of the official weigh-ins, the fighters came face to face for final staredowns. Check out the highlights in the video above and a photo gallery from the weigh-ins and faceoffs below.
UFC Fight Night 217 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex. The card streams on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 217.
