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For some fighters, a signature win can catapult them to stardom. The young lion defeats the old, and all that. For others, however, getting catapulted to the big stage can be just as much a curse as a blessing.
It may very well be at this point that Ihor Potieria will ever have another moment as big as UFC 283, where the Ukranian snagged the featured prelim spot on ABC—defeating former champion and PRIDE legend Mauricio Rua. That loss proved to be the final fight (at least for now) of the Brazilian’s illustrious career. It’s also the only victory that Potieria has managed to snag in four trips to the Octagon.
Ihor Potieria misses weight for short notice UFC Vegas 86 bout
Following his loss to Rodolfo Bellato at UFC Fight Night: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan Ihor Potieria teased a potential drop to a new division.
“Maybe I really need to think about changing weight division, since I am too small for light heavyweight,” Potieria wrote back in December of last year in a post on his Instagram page. “But I’ve been fighting big boys all my life, and I don’t regret anything.”
Unfortunately, it seems the chance to start fresh came just a little too soon for the ‘Duelist’. Following Albert Duraev’s withdrawal from a planned middleweight bout against UFC newcomer Robert Bryczek due to visa issues, Potieria stepped up on just a few days notice to take on the Polish fighter down at 185 pounds. Or, as it turned out, down at 187 lbs. Unfortunately for the WCA Fight Team talent he failed to make the middleweight limit for this weekend’s bout.
As a result of the miss, Potietia will be fined 20% of his show purse, with the fight continuing at a catchweight.
UFC Vegas 86: Daniel Marcos & Darrius Flowers make weight on second attempt
Potieria wasn’t the only fighter to struggle with the scale this week. Peruvian bantamweight talent Daniel Marcos came in .25 lbs over the 136 lb limit for his fight with Aoriqileng in the prelim opener.
Fortunately, in Marcos’ case, the extra hour allotted for a second weigh in attempt saw him hit 136 lbs on the nose. The fight will go ahead as an official bantamweight bout as planned. Lightweight talent Darrius Flowers also missed weight initially, coming in at 156.25 lbs, but was able to make the limit given an additional hour to cut.
All other fighters made weight for UFC Vegas 86, which takes place this Saturday, February 10th, in Las Vegas. The card is expected to be headlined by a middleweight bout between Joe Pyfer and top-ranked Jack Hermansson.
Complete UFC Vegas 86 weigh in results
ESPN+ Main Card | 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific
Jack Hermansson (185) vs. Joe Pyfer (185.5)
Dan Ige (146) vs. Andre Fili (146)
Robert Bryczek (185.5) vs. Ihor Potieria (187.5)
Brad Tavares (186) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (186)
Michael Johnson (156) vs. Darrius Flowers (156)
Rodolfo Vieira (185.5) vs. Armen Petrosyan (186)
ESPN+ Prelim Card | 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific
Trevin Giles (171) vs. Carlos Prates (171)
Bolaji Oki (156) vs. Timothy Cuamba (155)
Loma Lookboonmee (115.5) vs. Bruna Brasil (115.5)
Devin Clark (204.5) vs. Marcin Prachnio (204.5)
Max Griffin (170.5) vs. Jeremiah Wells (171)
Zac Pauga (206) vs. Bogdan Guskov (205.5)
Hyder Amil (145.5) vs. Fernie Garcia (146)
Daniel Marcos (136) vs. Aoriqileng (136)
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