Abubakar Vagaev Hits 185.5 Pounds, Locking In UFC 333 Middleweight Clash

Abubakar Vagaev officially hit the scale at 185.5 pounds on Friday, locking in his middleweight bout against Jacob Malkoun for UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi.

Weigh-ins are the only place in sports where a guy stepping on a scale in his underwear is treated like a high-stakes thriller. Vagaev hit his mark with a half-pound to spare, meaning he successfully avoided the dreaded catchweight tax and kept the early prelims intact.

"MMA Fighting reported the official weigh-in result of 185.5 pounds for Abubakar Vagaev."

The Russian fighter is riding a four-fight win streak and brings a heavy 25-4 professional record into the Etihad Arena. He is currently sitting as a -190 favorite at the betting window, while Malkoun comes back at +160.

For context, laying -190 on a guy fighting at 10:00 a.m. ET on Paramount+ is the exact kind of sick thrill that separates casual fans from the true combat sports degenerates. Vagaev has all the momentum, but Malkoun is a live dog trying to survive in a brutally deep 185-pound division.

With the dehydration portion of the weekend officially over, Vagaev just has to actually fight the guy. A fifth straight win on Saturday morning pushes him out of the early-prelim shadows and into the actual middleweight conversation.