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There was no surprise. Aleksandre Topuria (6-1) and Bekzat Almakhan (12-2) made weight early on Friday morning (09:00 local time) for UFC Qatar and confirmed their fight, now officially, for Saturday. 'The Conqueror' weighed in at 135.5 pounds while his opponent came in at 136. Both were under the limit, confirming the fight and getting out very quickly to start rehydrating soon.
There were no surprises in the rest of the weigh-ins: the two main fights were confirmed with Tsarukyan weighing 156 pounds and Hooker, 155; Belal Muhammad and Ian Machado Garry both weighed 171 pounds.
And now, the head to head
Everything went as it should: after a tough Thursday of weight cutting, the established plan was fulfilled and hours before stepping on the scales at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, everything was done. It was a great team effort by 'El Conquistador's' entire staff, with names such as Jesus Gallo or David Rojas being key players in this weight-cutting process.
The hardest part is over, and it's time to enjoy for the Spanish-Georgian fighter. The hours of dehydration and lack of food are behind him and now begins a 'rebound' process that could lead 'Aleks' to enter the cage tomorrow with 8-10 kilos more. Fully recovered.
This afternoon, from 18:00 local time (16:00 Spanish time) will be the ceremonial weigh-in of the event at the ABHA Arena, the 'chic' pavilion in Doha where tomorrow will take place the first UFC fight night in the history of Qatar. This afternoon, in the same way, will also be the first face to face between the fighters... with Aleksandre finally looking into the eyes of his opponent