Las Vegan Kevin Lee makes weight for UFC 216 on second attempt

Las Vegan Kevin Lee will get to fight for the interim lightweight title on Saturday night after all.

There were a few tense moments on Friday, however.

Lee, who told the Review-Journal on Thursday he weighed 174 pounds, originally missed weight Friday for his UFC 216 bout against Tony Ferguson at T-Mobile Arena.

After stepping on the scale in a conference room at The Mirage at 156 pounds just before the 11 a.m. deadline, Lee was granted an extra hour under Nevada Athletic Commission rules and returned just less than an hour later and tipped the scales at 154.5 pounds.

Ferguson weighed in earlier in the morning at 155 pounds.

There is a two-hour window the morning before fight cards during which all fighters are required to make weight. Fighters in non-title bouts can be 1-pound over the contracted weight, but there is no such allowance in championship bouts.

Under commission rules, combatants who are within two pounds of making weight during that two-hour window are given an extra hour as long as a doctor approves a fighter to continue the weight-cutting process.

Had Lee failed to make weight after the extra hour, Ferguson would have received a portion of Lee’s purse and only Ferguson would have been competing for the interim title.

Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Ray Borg both made weight for their 125-pound title fight.

Lightweight Nik Lentz was pulled from the card due to a medical issue, forcing a cancellation of his fight against Will Brooks.

The main card airs live Saturday on pay-per-view at 7 p.m.

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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.