UFC 127: Fighters Make Weight as BJ Penn Prepares for Jon Fitch

Though there are some intriguing bouts on the card, including pivotal matchups for Michael Bisping and George Sotiropoulos, it is hardly a secret that Saturday’s UFC 127 is a one-match-show from a marquee perspective.

But that one match is a compelling one. In his quest to prove he unequivocally deserves another crack at the UFC Welterweight Championship, contender Jon Fitch will face BJ Penn.

There is no question, from a wins and loss perspective, that Fitch has established himself as the top contender at 170 pounds. But between the decisive nature of his previous loss to champion Georges St. Pierre and criticism of what some feel is a boring, conservative fight style, he has had trouble shaking doubt about his competency. But insofar as BJ Penn is a well-rounded threat and viewed as one of the most talented fighters in the history of the sport, a win over Penn would do wonders to erase that doubt and cleanly establish Jon Fitch as the number one contender.

And, if Penn can defeat Fitch, he would build on his crushing knockout victory of Matt Hughes and earn his own shot at the 170 pound belt.

The fighters weighed in for the show Friday evening, results from UFC.com follow:

MAIN EVENT
Jon Fitch (170) vs BJ Penn (169)

PPV
Jorge Rivera (185) vs Michael Bisping (185)
Dennis Siver (156) vs George Sotiropoulos (156)
Chris Lytle (170) vs Brian Ebersole (170)
Chris Camozzi (185) vs Kyle Noke (184)

ION/UFC.TV PRELIMS
Ross Pearson (155) vs Spencer Fisher (154)
James Te Huna (205) vs Alexander Gustafsson (205)
Nick Ring (185) vs Riki Fukuda (185)

FACEBOOK PRELIMS
Tom Blackledge (205) vs Anthony Perosh (205)
Tiequan Zhang (146) vs Jason Reinhardt (145)

PRELIMS
Chris Tuchscherer (261) vs Mark Hunt (263)
Curt Warburton (156) vs Maciej Jewtuszko (155)