Miesha Tate is ready for a key opportunity at flyweight.
Making her debut in the 125-pound division, Tate successfully weighed in at 125. 8 pounds (using the one-pound allowance for non-title fights) at the official weigh-ins for her fight with one-time title challenger Lauren Murphy (125), which opens Saturday’s UFC Long Island main card. Tate is a former UFC bantamweight champion and could challenge Valentina Shevchenko as flyweight queen with a victory.
Saturday’s main event could also have title implications as two-time UFC title challenger Brian Ortega fights perennial contender Yair Rodriguez. That fight became official after Ortega weighed in at 146 pounds and Rodriguez at 145.4.
Ahead of the fight, Rodriguez said on The MMA Hour that he expects to receive a shot at champion Alexander Volkanovski with a win over Ortega.
All 24 fighters scheduled to compete in Elmont, N.Y., successfully made weight, though Friday’s official weigh-ins were not without drama. Co-main event strawweight Amanda Lemos was last to step the scale, arriving with around 15 minutes remaining in the official window and she came out with a box in preparation for a nude weigh-in. With the box, Lemos made weight at 116 pounds. Her opponent Michelle Waterson hit the mark at 115 on the dot.
See full UFC Long Island weigh-in results here:
Main Card (ABC at 2 p.m. ET)
Brian Ortega (146) vs. Yair Rodriguez (145. 4)
Michelle Waterson (115) vs. Amanda Lemos (116)
Li Jingliang (170. 6) vs. Muslim Salikhov (170. 8)
Matt Schnell (126) vs. Sumudaerji (125. 8)
Shane Burgos (145. 8) vs. Charles Jourdain (145. 6)
Lauren Murphy (125. 2) vs. Miesha Tate (125. 8)
Preliminary Card (ESPN, ESPN+ at 11 a.m. ET)
Punahele Soriano (185. 6) vs. Dalcha Lungiambula (185. 6)
Ricky Simon (135. 6) vs. Jack Shore (136)
Bill Algeo (146) vs. Herbert Burns (145. 4)
Dustin Jacoby (205) vs. Da Un Jung (205. 6)
Dwight Grant (184. 4) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (185. 6)
Jessica Penne (115. 8) vs. Emily Ducote (115. 6)
