Official weigh-ins for Bellator 53 were held Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma. All fighters on the main card met their required weight, including each of the four welterweight tournament semifinalists -- Ben Saunders (170.5), Luis Santos (170.5), Chris Lozano (170.5), and Douglas Lima (169.75). Their scheduled tournament bouts are now rendered official after the results of the weigh-ins.
Headliners Saunders and Santos showed ample amounts of respect towards each other as they squared off. "He's a great fighter and I'm expecting a good fight," Santos said after tipping the scales. "I'm ready for him." Afterwards Saunders echoed the sentiment, declaring, "I respect him tremendously. We're going to put on a great show and hopefully give the fans what they want -- a bloody war."
Undercard participant Greg Scott failed to meet his required weight, tipping the scales at 160.5 pounds for his 157-pound catchweight bout with Emanuel Brooks. Scott will be given an additional two hours to shed the remaining two-and-a-half pounds.
For more results and analysis, follow MMA Nation (@MMANation) on Twitter. Bellator 53 weigh-in results are listed below.
Main Card:
Welterweight Semifinal: Ben Saunders (170.5) vs. Luis Santos (170.5)
Welterweight Semifinal: Chris Lozano (170.5) vs. Douglas Lima (169.75)
Featherweight: Ronnie Mann (145.75) vs. Kenny Foster (146)
Heavyweight: Thiago Santos (263.5) vs. Josh Burns (262.5)
Preliminary Card:
Middleweight: Darryl Cobb (185) vs. Giva Santana (185.5)
Light Heavyweight: Raphael Davis (206) vs. Myron Dennis (204.5)
Lightweight: A.J. Matthews (175.5) vs. Rudy Bears (174)
Catchweight (157): Emanuel Brooks (157) vs. Greg Scott (160.5)