The supersized UFC main event this weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina, is now official.
Curtis Blaydes and Junior dos Santos weighed in successfully Friday morning for their heavyweight main event Saturday at PNC Arena. Blaydes weighed 248, and dos Santos, the former UFC heavyweight champion, hit the scale at 247.
Blaydes vs. dos Santos is a pivotal fight in the division. ESPN has Blaydes ranked No. 4 in the world, and dos Santos is No. 5. The winner Saturday could be within one victory of a title shot.
Blaydes (12-2, 1 NC) is on a two-fight winning streak. The Illinois native has lost to just one man in his UFC career: top contender Francis Ngannou.
The 28-year-old is regarded as one of the top young heavyweights to come along in some time. The former NJCAA national champion wrestler has used his pedigree in that sport to dominate many UFC fights, beating the likes of Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt.
Dos Santos (21-6) held the UFC heavyweight title in 2011 and 2012. The Brazilian slugger is coming off a TKO loss to Ngannou in June. Before that, he had won three in a row and was closing in on another title shot. The 35-year-old owns victories over current or former UFC champions Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Fabricio Werdum and Frank Mir.
In the co-main event, former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos meets Michael Chiesa in a key welterweight bout. Both weighed in successfully Friday: Dos Anjos hit the mark at 170, and Chiesa weighed 170.5. ESPN has dos Anjos ranked No. 9 in the world at 170 pounds.
All 24 fighters on the card in Raleigh successfully made weight.