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Daniel Cormier makes weight on second attempt, rumble with Anthony Johnson is on

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier made weight on his second attempt Friday for his Saturday bout with Anthony Johnson in Buffalo, N.Y. (Getty Images)
UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier made weight on his second attempt Friday for his Saturday bout with Anthony Johnson in Buffalo, N.Y. (Getty Images)

Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson injected some drama into the UFC 210 weigh-in Friday, both making weight in the final seconds.

Cormier weighed twice in the final five minutes, and somehow managed to lose 1.2 pounds in that short period of time to hit the 205-pound limit. Cormier, who appeared drawn from his weight cut, weighed in at 206.2 while stripped naked at about 10:56 a.m. ET, just four minutes before the deadline.

He left with a dejected look on his face, but stunningly returned about a minute or two later, hopped on the digital scale and weighed 205. He put his hand on the towel that was held in front of him for privacy, which created a bit of a controversy, but New York State Athletic Commission officials ruled it a valid attempt.

Then, at 11 a.m. on the dot, Johnson appeared. He has a history of missing weight, and his late arrival led to speculation he, too, was having difficulty.

In non-title fights, light heavyweights are given a one-pound allowance and only have to hit 206, but in a championship bout, they must make 205 on the nose.

After a dramatic pause, Johnson, shirtless but with athletic pants on, stepped onto the scale and weighed 203.8 pounds.

Though Cormier made weight, it now raises the issue of how well he’ll be able to perform considering the struggles. Fighters dehydrate themselves attempting to make the weight, and when it gets to be too much, they are at physical risk and also frequently perform poorly.

Saturday’s bout, the main event of UFC 210 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., is a rematch of a fight on May 23, 2015, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in which Cormier submitted Johnson in the third round with a rear naked choke to win the light heavyweight belt that was stripped from Jon Jones.