Shinya Aoki (31-6) and Antonio McKee (28-4-2) both made weight on the first attempt at today’s official weigh-ins at the Sunroute Plaza Hotel in Tokyo, Japan for the DREAM 18 portion of the New Year’s Eve historic double-header mega-fight card at Saitama Super Arena, live on GloryWorldSeries.com (tape delayed broadcast on CBS Sports Network in The U.S.).
Aoki was exactly on the 154 pound/70 kilogram weight limit for his fight with UFC veteran McKee, who then hit the scales at 153 pounds/69.5 kilograms. Their fight, which headlines the New Year’s Eve event, has been nearly two years in the making.
Of the other 14 fighters on the DREAM 18 card, all except Denis Kang (35-15-2, 2! NC) and Will Brooks (7-0) made weight on the first attempt.
Kang was 1.32 pounds/600 grams overweight when he first stood on the scales. He hit the sauna for an hour and made weight on his second attempt, touching down at 185 pounds/84 kilograms for his middleweight fight with Melvin Manhoef (26-9-1, 1 NC).
Brooks was 1.2 kilos overweight for his 154/pound/70 kilogram meeting with Japan’s Satoru Kitoaka (30-11-9). He was given two hours to lose the excess, but returned to the scales after one hour to make a second attempt. He was still .5 overweight and was given another hour to hit 70 kilograms, which he managed on the third and final try.
Complete DREAM 18 Weigh-In Results:
Featherweight match:
Tatsuya Kawajiri (65 kilos/143lbs) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (64.8/143lbs)
Featherweight match:
Hiroyuki! Takaya (65 kilos/143 lbs) vs. Georgi Karakhanyan (65 kilos/143 lbs)
Lightweight match:
Shinya Aoki (70 kilos/154.3 lbs) vs. Antonio McKee (69.5kg/154.3 lbs)
Bantamweight match:
Bibiano Fernandes (62.8 kilos/ 138.4 lbs) vs. Yoshiro Maeda (62.1 kilos / 136. 9lbs)
Middleweight match:
Melvin Manhoef (83.6 kilos/184.3 lbs) vs. Denis Kang (84 kilos /185.1 lbs kilos on second attempt)
Welterweight fight:
Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai (76.5 kilos/168.6 lbs) vs. Phil Baroni (76.1 kilos/167.7 lbs)
Catchweight Female Fight:
Marloes Coenen (66 kilos/145 lbs) vs. Fiona Muxlow (65.7 kilos/144.8 kilos)
Lightweight match:
Satoru Kitaoka (70 kilos/154.3 lbs) vs. Will Brooks (70 kilos/154.3 lbs on third attempt)
The CBS Sports Network telecast of the DREAM 18 event will begin at 10:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. PST on Tuesday, Jan. 1.
