When MMA fighters meet in the cage, they attempt to knock their opponent out with an array of punches, kicks, knees and elbows, or force them to tap out with painful submission holds from chokes to armbars. However, there’s a mandatory part of the sport that is arguably more dangerous than the fight itself: weight-cutting.
Fighters must make a certain weight one day before they compete in order to meet their respective weight class requirements. To do so, they cut weight, which entails artificial rapid weight loss through dehydrating themselves and sucking water out of their bodies in the days leading up to a fight. Fighters who fail to make weight are deemed to be unprofessional by fans and fellow fighters and are fined roughly 20 percent of their fight purse.
It’s not an easy process. Between dieting from about a couple months before the fight to sweating out their water just days before, fighters routinely lose around 25–35 lbs. Mixed martial artists have different reasons for cutting weight, but nutritionists, physicians, doctors and coaches regard extreme weight-cutting as an unsafe practice that constantly occurs in the sport of MMA. The process, if botched, has led to unconsciousness, kidney failure, hospitalization or even death for some of these athletes.
“It’s a dirty aspect of the sport.”
Between weigh-ins and fight time, fighters strategically rehydrate and regain most of the weight they lost in order to tip the scales at their weight class’ limit. For example, a welterweight who weighed 170 on Friday evening will be 190 on Saturday night. This has become the norm in all levels of MMA, different from when former fighter René Dreifuss competed on the New York regional circuit from 2004 to 2007 at 155 lbs.
“Weight-cutting has become an essential part of the strategy to win,” said Dreifuss. At 49, he is the head coach of Radical MMA in Manhattan and instructs a few amateur mixed martial artists. “At this point in MMA, it is something that you cannot avoid. It’s a dirty aspect of the sport.”
Read the full article HERE... https://mmasucka.com/2020/02/24/the-fight-before-the-fight-weight-cutting-in-mixed-martial-arts/
Fighters must make a certain weight one day before they compete in order to meet their respective weight class requirements. To do so, they cut weight, which entails artificial rapid weight loss through dehydrating themselves and sucking water out of their bodies in the days leading up to a fight. Fighters who fail to make weight are deemed to be unprofessional by fans and fellow fighters and are fined roughly 20 percent of their fight purse.
It’s not an easy process. Between dieting from about a couple months before the fight to sweating out their water just days before, fighters routinely lose around 25–35 lbs. Mixed martial artists have different reasons for cutting weight, but nutritionists, physicians, doctors and coaches regard extreme weight-cutting as an unsafe practice that constantly occurs in the sport of MMA. The process, if botched, has led to unconsciousness, kidney failure, hospitalization or even death for some of these athletes.
“It’s a dirty aspect of the sport.”
Between weigh-ins and fight time, fighters strategically rehydrate and regain most of the weight they lost in order to tip the scales at their weight class’ limit. For example, a welterweight who weighed 170 on Friday evening will be 190 on Saturday night. This has become the norm in all levels of MMA, different from when former fighter René Dreifuss competed on the New York regional circuit from 2004 to 2007 at 155 lbs.
“Weight-cutting has become an essential part of the strategy to win,” said Dreifuss. At 49, he is the head coach of Radical MMA in Manhattan and instructs a few amateur mixed martial artists. “At this point in MMA, it is something that you cannot avoid. It’s a dirty aspect of the sport.”
Read the full article HERE... https://mmasucka.com/2020/02/24/the-fight-before-the-fight-weight-cutting-in-mixed-martial-arts/