CINCINNATI — Tickets for Saturday's Ultimate Fighting Championship event will set you back anywhere from $50 to $500 — if you can find any tickets for the nearly-sold-out event. However, there's a cheaper way to get a taste of the mixed martial arts craze.

All 18 fighters who take part in Saturday's UFC 77 event will officially weigh in today for Ohio Athletic Commission officials. The free event is open to the public and takes place at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena, which hosts the next night's pay-per-view show.

Unlike boxing and other combat sports, weigh-ins for UFC events draw thousands of fight fans from all over the world.

The concert-like atmosphere includes autograph and photo opportunities, an array of vendors, a full audio-and-video treatment, and other event-related activities.

Still, the focus remains on the fighters.

All UFC fights take place in one of five weight classes, ranging from lightweight (145-155 pounds) to heavyweight (206-265).

Fighters, however, usually weigh in at the higher end of the range. And many of them will actually cut a substantial amount of water weight for the weigh-in, only to gain it right back for the big event.

The reason?

Size advantage.

Take Cincinnati native and main-event participant Rich Franklin, for example. He's commonly called a "big" middleweight. Franklin's "walking-around" weight is more than 200 pounds, but he'll rid himself of enough water weight to get down to 185 pounds this afternoon.

He'll then re-hydrate and return to his normal weight in time for the fight.

All fighters except those in championship bouts get a one-pound allowance during weigh-ins. Franklin won't get the extra pound because he's fighting current middleweight champ Anderson Silva for the title.

West Chester Twp.'s Jorge Gurgel, however, a lightweight who fights Alvin Robinson on Saturday's undercard, can weigh up to 156 pounds because of the allowance.

Reserved seating for today's event is available for UFC fan club members, but the general public gets seats only on a first-come, first-served basis.

Seating will begin at about 3 p.m., and the fighters hit the scales about 4.

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, a content partner site of Yahoo! Sports.

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UFC 77

weigh-ins

What: All fighters are officially weighed for Saturday's UFC 77 event

When: 3 to 5 p.m. today

Where: U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati

Cost: Free (no ticket needed)

More info: UFC.com