1 fighter on the card is missing weight

The UFC 309 main event is official, but one fighter missed the contracted weight Friday ahead of Saturday’s pay-per-view.

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his title against Stipe Miocic on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Both Jones and Miocic weighed well under the 265-pound limit for heavyweights.

Jones weighed just 237.6, and Miocic was 11 pounds heavier at 248.6. Heavyweight fights are the only division where you will see such huge differences in weigh-in totals.

The co-main event is also official, with Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler weighing in at 155.6 pounds. Their fight is a rematch and an early favorite to win Fight of the Night.

The fighter who missed weight is James Llontop. He will face rising Brazilian star Mauricio Ruffy to open the main card. Ruffy is a lightweight and was initially scheduled to fight Charlie Campbell on Saturday at 155 pounds.

Campbell had to withdraw due to injury and Llontop stepped in as a late substitute. Not having had the opportunity to begin his weight cut in the normal anticipation of the fight, Ruffy and Llontop agreed to a catchweight of 165 pounds.

Unfortunately, Llontop still missed weight by 1.2 pounds, weighing in at 166.2. There is no one pound mercy for catchweight fights. Llontop didn’t look stable on the scale or as he walked off stage.

Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter posted a video of Llontop’s weight loss.

The Ruffy-Llontop fight will still happen barring some complications between Friday morning and fight night. Llontop almost certainly doesn’t want to miss payday and the chance to perform at MSG in front of a pay-per-view audience. Ruffy has been through quite a camp and his career is on the rise, he definitely wants to fight to keep his momentum going.

Here’s a look at the official weigh-in results for each fighter on the card.

UFC 309 official weigh-in results

• Main event – Heavyweight title fight: Jon Jones (237.6) vs. Stipe Miocic (248.6)
• Co-main event – Lightweight bout: Charles Oliveira (155.6) vs. Michael Chandler (155.6)
• Middleweight bout: Bo Nickal (185.4) vs. Paul Craig (186)
• Women’s Flyweight Bout: Viviane Araujo (125.6) vs. Karine Silva (125.8)
• Catchweight Bout (165 lbs): Mauricio Ruffy (164.4) vs. James Llontop (166.2)*
• Bantamweight Fight: Jonathan Martinez (135.8) vs. Marcus McGhee (135.6)
• Middleweight Bout: Chris Weidman (186) vs. Eryk Anders (185.6)
• Lightweight bout: Jim Miller (155.6) vs. Damon Jackson (155.2)
• Lightweight bout: David Onama (155.6) vs. Roberto Romero (155)
• Heavyweight bout: Marcin Tybura (251) vs. Jhonata Diniz (253.2)
• Welterweight Fight: Mickey Gall (170.8) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (170.2)
• Welterweight Fight: Bassil Hafez (171) vs. Oban Elliott (170)
• Women’s Flyweight Bout: Veronica Hardy (125.8) vs. Eduarda Moura (125.2)

UFC 309 – How to watch

The card kicks off on Saturday, November 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with the main card at 10pm ET on ESPN+ PPV.

You can watch the prelims on FX, Hulu, ESPNNEWS and ESPN Deportes on ESPN+ at 8 PM ET. The early prelims begin at 6:00 PM ET on ESPN+ and UFC FightPass.

I’ll be reporting on Saturday evening after the event, which caps off a huge weekend of martial arts.