Weight cutting is still a big problem in modern MMA.
You would think with all the information available today it would be a non-issue excluding unexpected circumstances. The UFC especially has suffered from this even though some rule changes have been made to help make the cutting process easier.
At UFC 199 we witnessed the first ever morning weigh-in instead of the usual 4 pm afternoon timeslot, the advantage of weighing in early is fighters spend less time dehydrated & then have more time to rehydrate before competing the following day. This rule change was implemented to aid the health of fighters both before and after the weigh-ins but there’s still been some who have missed their intended mark on the scales.
In 2017, the first full year with the new weigh-in time there were 21 cases of fighters missing weight, 2 more than the previous year. In 2018 there have been 6 instances of fighters missing weight so far.
The fact remains even with all the resources available some athletes are still getting it wrong at the highest level. why?
With all the financial incentives in MMA now it’s become a mainstream sport, fighters are looking for any chance to gain a competitive edge. Coming into the Octagon physically bigger & stronger than your opponent is almost like having a head start, some athletes are cutting vast amounts of weight to come in with that size as a way of getting ahead.
In general, if you look at the size of fighters in any division now compared to the early years the fighters are considerably bigger. Jon Jones would have been a reasonably sized heavyweight at the time Chuck Liddell was the light heavyweight champion to think they both fought in the same division is stunning. Conor McGregor would have been gigantic compared to B.J Penn at 155lbs but somehow McGregor was making the 145lb limit just 3 years ago.
The examples I used were purposeful, Jon Jones & Conor McGregor have never missed weight. They seek a size advantage but get the science of the weight cut right. Kevin Lee & Mackenzie Dern haven’t been as clinical.
One part of the problem is giving yourself too much to do, which is Kevin Lee’s problem.
He clearly executes the weigh-in with the correct protocol however he’s pushing his weight so low he’s malnourished. In giving himself too much weight to cut hitting a specific target will always be a lottery, the best long-term solution for him would be to compete at a higher weight class like Rafael dos Anjos has elected to do.
The other issue is fighters dietary discipline in between fights, this is where Mackenzie Dern went wrong.
Missing weight is unprofessional
Dern’s particular situation was inexcusable. The fact that she attempted to make weight and still missed by 7lbs indicates to me she must have been very heavy before beginning training camp for her last fight. Fighters ideally should be somewhere in the region of their weight category between fights, if Lee & Dern applied that philosophy to their regime they would find it much easier to hit their limit despite having different circumstances.
Chuck Liddell was recently talking to Ariel Helwani, expressing his surprise at how many fighters miss weight these days, he said: “I don’t know what’s wrong with people nowadays with this cutting, I don’t understand“. he went on to explain how he would be around 225lbs before cutting down to 205lbs which isn’t much weight to cut at all, maybe that’s why he never encountered any problems making weight.
Seeking an athletic advantage is understandable, fighters will look for ways to get ahead with all that’s at stake. Each fighter has a responsibility, however, to make the weight they intend to compete at. The answer to this problem if you ask me is adding more weight divisions in conjunction with stricter penalties for missing weight, I’m positive both those solutions applied together would reduce the number of fighters failing to make weight dramatically.