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I’ve noticed a trend as I know a few of you have. Fighters at some point begin losing their weight as they approach a bout. At some point there has to be a conversation with their coaches where they say “hey man, not feeling great about the weight cut. It always sucks, but this….this is too much. I can’t do it”.
At that point fighters are presented with two options:
Option A: Try your best to push through. Cut the weight the best you can, and who knows, maybe you make weight? However, if you keep cutting and still don’t make weight, you risk losing from your purse, AND you risk being depleted.
Option B: Fuck it. 3 pounds off or 8 pounds off I get paid the same. I might as well look good. After all, I’m already being docked my pay, and the only thing worse then that is having a bad performance on top of it. I’m not gonna cut at all, and I’m gonna feel great kicking their ass. We’ll address the weight next time around during camp.
So what do you do? What do you want fighters to do? I think it’s pretty clear that the “correct” choice is “A”, but that the smartest choice is “B”. There’s no reason for guys to kill them selves and keep it competitive when the punishment is equal regardless of what you do. It’s like saying that murder and punching someone in the leg are the same thing. They are both violence, but they aren’t the same.
So what if we create brackets?
Over the Limit by 0-2 LBs=25% of your purse
Over the Limit by 2-4 LBs=50%
Over the Limit by 4-6 LBs=75%
Over the Limit by 6+ LBs=100%
There’s a serious argument that the more you weigh, the larger the risk your opponent is making by stepping in the octagon with you. So shouldn’t their compensation be reflective of the actual risk?
The only realistic downside I see is that you can argue that fighters who should stop cutting may continue to cut, and it could result in increased health risks. But to a certain extent I think there needs to be a responsibility on fighters to make sure they are at the right weight class and prepared appropriately.
What are your thoughts?
At that point fighters are presented with two options:
Option A: Try your best to push through. Cut the weight the best you can, and who knows, maybe you make weight? However, if you keep cutting and still don’t make weight, you risk losing from your purse, AND you risk being depleted.
Option B: Fuck it. 3 pounds off or 8 pounds off I get paid the same. I might as well look good. After all, I’m already being docked my pay, and the only thing worse then that is having a bad performance on top of it. I’m not gonna cut at all, and I’m gonna feel great kicking their ass. We’ll address the weight next time around during camp.
So what do you do? What do you want fighters to do? I think it’s pretty clear that the “correct” choice is “A”, but that the smartest choice is “B”. There’s no reason for guys to kill them selves and keep it competitive when the punishment is equal regardless of what you do. It’s like saying that murder and punching someone in the leg are the same thing. They are both violence, but they aren’t the same.
So what if we create brackets?
Over the Limit by 0-2 LBs=25% of your purse
Over the Limit by 2-4 LBs=50%
Over the Limit by 4-6 LBs=75%
Over the Limit by 6+ LBs=100%
There’s a serious argument that the more you weigh, the larger the risk your opponent is making by stepping in the octagon with you. So shouldn’t their compensation be reflective of the actual risk?
The only realistic downside I see is that you can argue that fighters who should stop cutting may continue to cut, and it could result in increased health risks. But to a certain extent I think there needs to be a responsibility on fighters to make sure they are at the right weight class and prepared appropriately.
What are your thoughts?