The title fight is a go, but emotions spilled over briefly at the Bellator 226 official weigh-in in San Jose, at least for Cheick Kongo.
Favian Gutierrez weighed in with a luchador mask, Abraham Vaesau missed weight for a catchweight bout, but mostly, the Bellator 226 official weigh-ins were an orderly affair. Right up until Cheick Kongo gave a firm shove to opponent Ryan Bader during the final face-off ahead of fight night.
Both men made weight, however, not that it was ever in question, given the pair clock in well below the 265lb upper limit of the division. That means the heavyweight title fight between double-champ Ryan Bader (who also holds 205lb gold) and Kongo is a go. So too are the four opening round bouts from Bellator’s featherweight grand prix. With four more fights in the tournament coming later in the month, the 16-man grand prix was set to be a hot topic.
But it was Bader’s first heavyweight title defense that would have curious MMA fans looking on Saturday night. Kongo, on an eight-fight win streak, was his toughest test in the weight class to date.
Full weigh-in results are below. The event takes place Saturday, September 7 live at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA.
Bellator 226: Bader vs. Kongo Weigh-In Results
Heavyweight: Ryan Bader (c) (228.7) vs. Cheick Kongo (239.2) – For the Bellator MMA heavyweight championship
Featherweight: Daniel Straus (144.4) vs. Derek Campos (144.9) – Bellator featherweight grand prix opening round
Featherweight: Pat Curran (144.6) vs. Ádám Borics (144.7) – Bellator featherweight grand prix opening round
Featherweight: Sam Sicilia (145) vs. Roberto de Carvalho (144.1) – Bellator featherweight grand prix opening round
Featherweight: Emmanuel Sanchez (144.1) vs. Tywan Claxton (144.3) – Bellator featherweight grand prix opening round
Featherweight: Gaston Bolanos (145.5) vs. Daniel Carey (144.2)
Preliminary card
Middleweight: Ivan Batinich (185.2) vs. Daniel Compton (185.3)
Catchweight (180 lbs.): Albert Gonzalez (180) vs. Tyson Miller (179.1)
Middleweight: Favian Gutierrez (185.6) vs. Alan Benson (184.7)
Catchweight (140 lbs.): Peter Ishiguro (139.9) vs. Elias Anderson (139.8)
Flyweight: Daniel Gonzalez (125.3) vs. Jonathan Adams (124)
Middleweight: Cornelius Savage (184.9) vs. Evan Gubera (184.7)
Featherweight: John Maċapa (145.6) vs. Ashleigh Grimshaw (145.5)
Lightweight: Adam Piccolotti (155.2) vs. Jacob Smith (155.4)
Women’s Featherweight: Amber Leibrock (145.4) vs. Jessica Borga (144.7)
Bantamweight: Cass Bell (135.6) vs. Isaiah Rocha (135.1)
Welterweight: James Terry (169.7) vs. Batsumberel Dagvadorj (171)
Catchweight (175 lbs.): Abraham Vaesau (178.8)* vs. Renato Alves (172.9)
Featherweight: Hyder Amil (145.9) vs. Ignacio Ortiz (145.4)
Lightweight: Christopher Gonzalez (155.8) vs. Luis Vargas (156)
* Vaesau missed the catchweight 175lb limit and will be fined 20% of his purse
