Determining Your Fight Weight

projectaero

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Hi,
I am just wondering how do i find out my ideal fight weight ?
I am currently 5'9.5 176 pounds - most of it has gone to my gut im thinking Middleweight at 185 or Welterweight but unsure on where to aim for.
What do you guys suggest or if you know of a way to determing your fight weight.
Cheers
 
A good rule of thumb is always shoot to be the heavier guy in the fight.
To do this you should cut down the weight where you are lean but still strong and when I say lean I mean whole body lean not just 2 ab muscles slightly showing. Now from there lets say lean you are 160 now you can fight 160 but if you sweat off 6 pounds you couls fight 154 which means you are a guy coming down from 179 lbs walking weight to 154 pounds fight weight. That is a huge size advantage.
 
When u say huge size advantage what do you mean.
Are you saying that going up against a guy who walks around at 160 pound i would have a strength and power advantage as i was coming down from 176 pounds.
 
I like to get as heavy as I can as I'm real fast and can take heavy hits so that would be an advantage against bigger guys in my situation. Smaller guys usually have better cardio and faster hands. also bigger guys will tire more easily in most cases so that suits me.

Probably different with everyone though. Just fight at whatever weight you feel comfortable with but yeah you definitely want to be lean and not just pack on fat.
 
you don't ACTUALLY train do you? Cause if you did, you'd be able to consult your coach or trainer or whoever for these kind of answers.

My reccomendation? step away from the keyboard and get into a gym.
 
i dont train weights but i do muay thai twice a week sometimes three times a week.
 
Vilo Magee said:
A good rule of thumb is always shoot to be the heavier guy in the fight.
To do this you should cut down the weight where you are lean but still strong and when I say lean I mean whole body lean not just 2 ab muscles slightly showing. Now from there lets say lean you are 160 now you can fight 160 but if you sweat off 6 pounds you couls fight 154 which means you are a guy coming down from 179 lbs walking weight to 154 pounds fight weight. That is a huge size advantage.

Agreed.

All that changes if you're in the highest weight division of your sport, assuming there's no max. There's obviously no point in cutting from 240 to 236 if you're still a heavyweight. Your wieght doesn't matter as much as your overall physical capability here. Be as strong and as heavy as you can be without sacrificing any speed or endurance. Fedor is an obvious example of a guy who can afford to have a doughnut around his middle. Noguiera even said his being soft makes it harder to get a hold of him for grappling purposes. This doesn't apply to you since you're a soft 170 but for the bigger guys out there, it's something to condsider.
 
Vilo Magee said:
A good rule of thumb is always shoot to be the heavier guy in the fight.
To do this you should cut down the weight where you are lean but still strong and when I say lean I mean whole body lean not just 2 ab muscles slightly showing. Now from there lets say lean you are 160 now you can fight 160 but if you sweat off 6 pounds you couls fight 154 which means you are a guy coming down from 179 lbs walking weight to 154 pounds fight weight. That is a huge size advantage.

After the weigh in your body will try to adjust back to its former weight which means you will quicky regain weight and walk into the fight bigger and stronger than your opponent
 
Urban said:
you don't ACTUALLY train do you? Cause if you did, you'd be able to consult your coach or trainer or whoever for these kind of answers.

My reccomendation? step away from the keyboard and get into a gym.

why all the hate? hes just trying to get some advice.
 
I had a coach in Dallas, a well known pro mma'er/kickboxer, tell me to fight at my natural, everyday weight. In essence, screw cutting, energy better spent somewhere else.
 
Great point Chad. I agree with cutting a bit (10-12 lbs) but sometimes it's excessive. But hey, what do I know, I only do bjj tournaments so I can't really cut much because the weigh-ins are that day.
 
I think Vilo has it right. Get to where you are lean and in good fighting shape, then cut water from there 6-10 lbs.
 
projectaero said:
When u say huge size advantage what do you mean.
Are you saying that going up against a guy who walks around at 160 pound i would have a strength and power advantage as i was coming down from 176 pounds.

When you go down in weight, such mass is mostly fat (and water too). So you'd be having the bone structure, explosive power and overall size of a guy 10-20 pounds heavier fighting guys that may be natural to the lower class, or pump up from an even lower weight (smaller opponent) to fight in that class.

It's like having Baldomir, a guy who walks around at about 185 pounds fight Gatti who had to gain about 15 pounds to fight at 147.
 
You also have to consider your height. If you are 5'9", and fight at 170, you stand a good chance of fighting taller opponents and having to deal with their reach advantage. Better to cut weight and face opponents your size or smaller.
 
Unless you think you can honestly carry at 185 then go for it. But I warn you its best to choose the class below. My friend was about 165 and chose to go up to 170 and would always tell me that the guys at 170 are way bigger than him and stronger. So he cut down to 155 and said its much better.
 
Hey NeoOsiris, how do you get that quote on the bottom of all your posts? Surely you don't type it in every time you post.

Hm... OR DO YOU!
 
Savant021 said:
Hey NeoOsiris, how do you get that quote on the bottom of all your posts? Surely you don't type it in every time you post.

Hm... OR DO YOU!

Go to the bottom right of your screen and click on "User CP", then "Edit Signature" and your money
 
I was told to never lose more than 8% of your total body weight. As you are just dehydrating yourself adn your brain shrinks (more conducive to concussions see N. Benn/G. McClellan) and your strength and stamina are not going to recover in time, usually less than 24 hours to recover. If you do do this, make sure you push a shit load of pedialyte.

I am wondering this myself. I am going to take a MMA fight in the fall before I am too old. I am at 195-200. I can easily drop down to 185 and be strong but then I am not going to be as fast. At 205 I would be the fastest and probably the best conditioned.
 
Hi,
I am just wondering how do i find out my ideal fight weight ?
I am currently 5'9.5 176 pounds - most of it has gone to my gut im thinking Middleweight at 185 or Welterweight but unsure on where to aim for.
What do you guys suggest or if you know of a way to determing your fight weight.
Cheers

Well the fact you’re asking on here instead of asking your coach means you probably don’t train and thus question is irrelevant
 
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