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The UFC 333 weigh-ins almost went perfectly, with 27 out of the 28 fighters being successful.
MMA’s leading promotion is back in the Middle East for its annual numbered event at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena, where two titles will be defended this time around.
After bantamweight champion Petr Yan settles his trilogy with Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event, UFC 333 will close out with featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski’s defense against Movsar Evloev.
Both title fights are official after Friday’s weigh-ins. And despite one big miss on the scale, every bout on the undercard has also remained intact.
Among the matchups setting the stage for the headlining championship fights at UFC 333 is a prelim in the strawweight division.
Nicolle Caliari will be fighting former top-10 contender Iasmin Lucindo in the only women’s fight on Saturday’s card.
The pair will meet in the very first action of the night, but it was not a certainty that their contest would reach the cage after one of the Brazilians stepped on the scale.
27 fighters successfully made weight, but Caliari stopped it from being a perfect weigh-in by missing the strawweight limit for non-title fights by 4.5 pounds.
While she came in at 120.5 pounds, Lucindo successfully came in under the limit at 115 pounds for her return from suspension for a failed drug test.
Despite that gulf in weight, the fight will still be going ahead, with Caliari forfeiting 30 percent of her purse.
After winning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series two years ago, Caliari lost her first two fights inside the Octagon before submitting Shauna Bannon last time out.
Five years younger than her UFC 333 rival at 24, Lucindo has long been tipped to reach title contention at 115 pounds.
She recorded wins over Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Marina Rodriguez, and Angela Hill before being handed a nine-month suspension in 2025.