The atmosphere tomorrow night at the Pepsi Center should fiery. That's if the energy carries over from this afternoon's weigh-in.
The main event fighters, Jon Jones and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, were both jacked up as they easily made weight for the UFC light heavyweight title showdown (video).
The staredown was highlighted by some barking back and forth.
"I had to keep it real with him. I'm gonna end his hype tomorrow," Jackson told UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "That's what I had to tell him."
Has Jackson gotten under Jones' skin during the long lead up to the fight? It's impossible to truly know, but he did get Jones to go away from his customary stare away during the face off. Jones looked straight at Jackson and the fighters began to chirp immediately.
"It's about time he grows up and starts acting like a real MMA fighter and quit throwing [out] a front for these fans," Jackson said. "Stare people down! That's what we do."
Check this UFC.com video for a closer look at the face-to-face conversation. Once Jones, 24, walked away he told Rogan there's already been too much talking, he just wants to do his in the cage.
Jackson, 33, was jovial before he hit the scale. He even shook his rump a bit for the crowd. Jones came out screaming "let's go!" and pulled off the "black socks with sneakers look" quite well.
The crowd in Denver seemed stoked for the card. They booed loudly when Josh Kosheck came to the stage. For a guy, who got called in on 19 days notice, Koscheck looked shredded. The greeting and staredown from Matt Hughes was professional. Koscheck has been goading Hughes by saying the UFC Hall of Famer ducked him over the years. Hughes hasn't taken any of the trash talk bait.
There were two minor dust ups. Junior Assuncao burst across the stage and got right in Eddie Yagin's face. The little Filipino was shocked, but didn't retaliate. Nick Ring did the same to Tim Boetsch, but did so in more gentle fashion.
Takanori Gomi's demeanor was interesting. The Japanese legend is usually very stoics, but when the taller Nate Diaz tried to hover over him and get in his face, Gomi glared at him and starting shaking his fists.
All 20 fighters made weight without incident.
UFC 135 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie):
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Champ Jon Jones (204.5) vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (204)
Matt Hughes (170) vs. Josh Koscheck (170.5)
Mark Hunt (261) vs. Ben Rothwell (263)
Rob Broughton (261) vs. Travis Browne (255)
Nate Diaz (156) vs. Takanori Gomi (155)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
Aaron Riley (155) vs. Tony Ferguson (155)
Tim Boetsch (186) vs. Nick Ring (185)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Junior Assuncao (145) vs. Eddie Yagin (145)
Cole Escovedo (135) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (135)
Ricardo Romero (205) vs. James Te Huna (205)
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