How much weight is cut on average? How much water weight do fighters cut?

[Kvothe_the_kingkiller]

Hard to tell as almost no fighters release their true walk around weights or pre cut weights.

There have been 5 or 6 UFC events in CA with fight night weights published.

The average cut was 10%. I am defining cut as the delta between weigh-in weight and fight night weight.

Sources are widely known, the events included (off the top of my head) UFC 227, UFC 232, UFC 241, and a few others. (EDIT: here you go https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/stats-on-fight-night-weights-4-events.4046629/)

Which was a lot higher than CA anticipated. They had originally assumed they would make 10% the max, but after learning how much average weight cuts were, they made 14% the max (about 8 fighters got a hand slap and were required to prove they wouldn't cut so much next time, or move up).
~~~~~
As others have said, "walking around weight" is meaningless. It should never be discussed seriously.

 

[Kvothe_the_kingkiller]

@Miokink026 is calling me an idiot for saying no one is cutting 35lbs or over 50lbs of water weight. Especially with IV bans

@Miokink026 says average LW and FW and people are cutting 35lbs of weight or more, and that some HW are 300lbs or over 300lbs (cutting 35lbs or 40lbs or more!)

Can we get some real evidence some science as to what is feasible to cut? And what people actually weigh in the cage in fight night.

I don't know if you're an idiot or not, but here are some facts. About 100 fighters. Not a huge sample size, but enough data to make some solid conclusions.

Costa was one of the biggest documented cutters, and he cut <30lbs.

Paulo Costa (186 to 213.8 = 14.9%)
​

As for LW and FW, Yusuff cut even higher % than Costa, and he was <25lbs.

Sodiq Yusuff (145 to 169.2 = 16.7%)
​

So ya, if you said guys are cutting 35-50lbs, existing evidence does not support your claim. **Maybe** there was a LHW who cut over 17% (that would be about 35lbs). But if it wasn't in CA from about 2018-2020, we don't have any documentation on it.

We also have no evidence about HW, but you're not the first to wonder about Brock, Bigfoot, Hunt, and a few others.

 

[randomg1t]

Lol don't believe the fool's lies. He told me straight up 300 lb men can't make 265 lbs. I told him they can easily do that and gave him evidence.

He BACKTRACKED and started blabbering about how tthey must be able to make that weight in 24 hours. Nobody even mentioned pre fight night weight and octagon weight. The only premise was can 300 lb men cut 35 lbs and fight at 265. With a full camp, they can easily do that since people in lower weight classes do that all the time.

Now he's lying to desperately get people to agree with him so he can say he 'destroyed' me.

https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/...guys-always-care-more.4201200/#post-165861606

Here, this is the entire thing. If anyone actually wants to see just how much of a tool he is, read it. It's quite pathetic but entertaining.

going from 300lbs to 265lbs through a training camp is not cutting. cutting is dehydration, which is done in the final 2-3 days before the weigh-ins.

losing weight is not the same thing as cutting weight, and is completely irrelevant to fighting. someone trimming down 20lbs of fat through cardio has absolutely no relevance to this debate.

 

[randomg1t]

good point. So roughly when do people start the water-weight cut? I'm wondering how we could accurately measure that part. Compare the weigh-in weight to what it was the day before? or two days before?

depends on how they do it.

a guy i train with did over-hydration for about a week, drinking ridiculous amounts of water, peeing a gazillion times a day. then two days before the weigh ins he began drinking regular amounts of water, but was still pissing out a lot. it's not the healthiest trick to shed water, but he preferred it to boiling himself in a sauna.

another of my guys swore on salty hot baths. he generally cut pretty much everything in the last 30 hours.

then there was the guy who cut like 7lbs and lost 5 of those overnight by just going to sleep, the rest by taking his morning dump. that was honestly the most comfortable i've ever seen anyone make weight. dude had a full dinner and desert the night before the weigh-ins. beat the living shit out of his opponent, too.

 

[Kvothe_the_kingkiller]

depends on how they do it.

a guy i train with did over-hydration for about a week, drinking ridiculous amounts of water, peeing a gazillion times a day. then two days before the weigh ins he began drinking regular amounts of water, but was still pissing out a lot. it's not the healthiest trick to shed water, but he preferred it to boiling himself in a sauna.

another of my guys swore on salty hot baths. he generally cut pretty much everything in the last 30 hours.

then there was the guy who cut like 7lbs and lost 5 of those overnight by just going to sleep, the rest by taking his morning dump. that was honestly the most comfortable i've ever seen anyone make weight. dude had a full dinner and desert the night before the weigh-ins. beat the living shit out of his opponent, too.

And other guys have documented starting a week out. Not cutting water until the last 3 days, but certainly cutting other things, and limiting their eating to, say, 6 pieces of sashimi for dinner.

So it really is one of those "it takes all kinds" sorta deals.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

No one is cutting 35lbs of water weight. They might be dieting down over a period of weeks and losing like half that and then doing a water cut of the other half or so.

I don't know why so many people don't understand that weight cutting isn't just a water cut, they diet down first removing things like carbs and sodium over a period of weeks then do a water cut.

 

[SuperAlly]

I heard Conor cuts 45lbs and is the worst weight bully in UFC if not MMA

 

[Stranger Come Knocking]

Weight cutting = PUSSY

Fuck you all

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

It's pretty well known Khabib walked around 190-195 before cutting down to 155

not all fighters cut that hard, obviously

Most lightweight hover around 180 - 185

Tibau is also a notorious cutter
Bout the same as khabib

Khabib isn't in shape to fight when he used to get up to 190ish. Khabib was less than 180 when he got a nutritionist.

 

[randomg1t]

And other guys have documented starting a week out. Not cutting water until the last 3 days, but certainly cutting other things, and limiting their eating to, say, 6 pieces of sashimi for dinner.

So it really is one of those "it takes all kinds" sorta deals.

lots of people get low on carbs the final week, but i honestly don't think it's worth it. trim down as much as you can through dieting and training, but don't starve yourself in the last 7 days leading up to a fight. i know people do it, but it's nonsensical.

 

[agibmxmma]

no featherweight cuts 35lbs, that's absurd. a heavyweight, maybe. but there aren't many HWs above the 265 limit.

a 15lbs cut is pretty standard and can be done by more or less anyone, though it is far more difficult at the lower weights. i guess the more extreme cutters at the lowest classes still do it.

what people don't realize is that after a certain point, every next pound gets exponentially more difficult to lose. cutting 20lbs isn't 30% more difficult than cutting 15lbs. it's a fucking nightmare.

not to mention 90% of sherdog thinks walk around weight is fight night weight, so when they hear khabib is 200lbs when he's out of camp, they assume he cuts 45lbs. they are retarded.

Max, Volk, Ortega, Emmett, etc.. all walk around in the 180s, so they are technically cutting more then 35lbs. Many HW's are above the 265 weight limit. I could correct your post even more, but next time just speak on facts, not your biased opinion.

 

[Sickbro69420]

You can cut 10# this week with a water cut. Put on some heavy clothing and get some work in and cut 2-5 pounds after the water cut and squeeze some more out in the sauna as a last resort and keep your weight down for a small period of time. It's simple to do but not simplistic.

 

[Sickbro69420]

Max, Volk, Ortega, Emmett, etc.. all walk around in the 180s, so they are technically cutting more then 35lbs. Many HW's are above the 265 weight limit. I could correct your post even more, but next time just speak on facts, not your biased opinion.

I think he means straight up water weight cut after dieting and food protocol to get to that point. I could be wrong though.

 

[Kvothe_the_kingkiller]

Weight cutting = PUSSY

Fuck you all

It is one of the worst aspects of the "evolution" (or "professionalism") of this sport.

But even old school tough guys do some (or lots) of weight cutting:

• Anthony Pettis 4.5%
• BJ Penn 4.8%
• Nate Diaz 5.9%
• Carlos Condit 7.9%
• Jon Jones 8.8% (notice this is below average, opposite of conventional wisdom)
• Cub Swanson 9.9%
• Derek Brunson 10.1%
• Urijah Faber 13.0%
• Demetrious Johnson 13.6%

The reason why guys like Frankie Edgar, Machida and Hendo (at 205) stand out so well is because they are the exceptions that prove the rule. And the fact is, almost all non-HW's cut.

But I'm glad CSAC started monitoring fight night weights. It really shined a flashlight on how prevalent weight cutting is.

 

[randomg1t]

Max, Volk, Ortega, Emmett, etc.. all walk around in the 180s, so they are technically cutting more then 35lbs. Many HW's are above the 265 weight limit. I could correct your post even more, but next time just speak on facts, not your biased opinion.

you are the exact people i'm talking about, lol.

cutting weight means losing water before the weigh-ins, then regaining much of that water by fight night. no, max holloway does not weigh fucking 180+ lbs on fight night. he does not cut 40 fucking pounds to make 145.

walk around weight has absolutely fuckall to do with fight night weight. there are only 2 weights that matter in a fight: the weight the athletes have on weigh-ins, and the weight they have on fight night. max is 145 on weigh-ins, 160-something on fight night. walk around weight 4 months before the fight is completely and utterly irrelevant.

but go on, correct my previous post some more.

 

[Mr Wings]

If this helps at all, I can tell you I cut 9.2 pounds in 24 hours once, going from 166.2 to 157.

Method

-Water loading: drinking extra water for a few days to get the body in the habit of pissing.
-eat extra salt the day before cutting weight.
-24 hours before weigh in, stopped eating and drinking
-took two hot baths (20 mins, then 12 mins), putting menthol alcohol and salt in the baths.
-took milk of magnesia once to promote shitting.

I felt ok, just really thirsty.
I can imagine losing another 10 pounds if I was jogging and going in saunas. Beyond that seems like it would be fucked up to do, but hey…

 

[Local Plata]

It depends who you ask. Ask your typical sherdogger WWE fan, and Nate Diaz cuts approx. 550 pounds to make WW, while Colby Covington, who wrestled above 170 about a decade ago, actually straps plates to his back during weigh ins to make it up to 170.

 

[Kvothe_the_kingkiller]

you are the exact people i'm talking about, lol.

cutting weight means losing water before the weigh-ins, then regaining much of that water by fight night. no, max holloway does not weigh fucking 180+ lbs on fight night. he does not cut 40 fucking pounds to make 145.

walk around weight has absolutely fuckall to do with fight night weight. there are only 2 weights that matter in a fight: the weight the athletes have on weigh-ins, and the weight they have on fight night. max is 145 on weigh-ins, 160-something on fight night. walk around weight 4 months before the fight is completely and utterly irrelevant.

but go on, correct my previous post some more.

The real mystery is why do we keep trying to explain it, over and over again.

 

[kellier]

Hasn't the CSAC adopted the 15% body weight rule for rehydration?

 

[randomg1t]

The real mystery is why do we keep trying to explain it, over and over again.

i try because some people are genuinely curious about it and just don't know - there's a couple in this thread. it's nice to have a conversation with them.

not so nice when the fuckwits come around, though. no experience, no understanding, but lots of confidence and misinterpreted information.