The Reason For Weight Cutting's Existence In 2013

[spankdaddy]

I didn't read this lol

It's great that the TS made a numeric list. But without paragraphs it doesn't improve the readability much. I think he'll do better next time.

 

[Pacemaker Joe]

Brain injury risk is bad enough without dehydration reducing cerebrospinal fluid in the brain (which provides cushioning). At least the next day fighters will have had time to get fluids in them.

Yep.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duk_Koo_Kim#Mancini_match

If you want to bring in same-day weigh ins, fine. But you better bring in something similar to wrestling's minimum wrestling weight too.

 

[SaintSoldier]

I think it would be better to do two weigh ins, one the day before and one about an hour before the event starts, to make sure fighters aren't cutting ridiculous amounts. If they weigh more than a certain amount above the weight class limit, then their purse gets deducted.

 

[soiltostone]

Yep.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duk_Koo_Kim#Mancini_match

If you want to bring in same-day weigh ins, fine. But you better bring in something similar to wrestling's minimum wrestling weight too.

Wow, that's incredibly sad. Was it linked to low CSF?

 

[DVN**]

Paragraphs motherf*cker, do you speak it

 

[Jarnee]

UFC has big weight brackets- 10s, 15s, 20 and 60 pounds. Boxing has small brackets so I don't know why the cry about 2 or 3 pounds all the time. If you have a healthy in shape weight of 190- you better drop to 185 or you will be fighting guys who cut down to 205 from 220 or 230. 157lbs? you fight a 180lb dude. In boxing you may be better to be healthy and 6 pound lighter- but to be healthy but 30lbs lighter in mma with grappling n shit- not so good.

 

[Jimmy Jumper]

I think it would be better to do two weigh ins, one the day before and one about an hour before the event starts, to make sure fighters aren't cutting ridiculous amounts. If they weigh more than a certain amount above the weight class limit, then their purse gets deducted.

Then some dudes would just not be fully rehydrating themselves for fight day.

It really is quite impossible to stop weightcutting, a lot of ridiculous ideas in here.

 

[snoop dogg***]

why? if they fight dehydrated they will lose period and the ones that will do well is the ones that don't dehydrate themselves.

u dont know how wrestling works do you? the weigh ins are day of. this wont stop anything. day before weigh ins are safer

 

[AppliedScience]

I would have no problem with same day weigh in. If fighters are stupid enough to enter the ring whilst dehydrated, they'll be found out pretty quickly.

Exactly. They will get the result of their foolishness.
Same day weigh ins are used in other sports and make a lot of sense.

 

[Merman]

And that's where you fail, TS (no offense).

Fighters would still dehydrate themselves to make weight, thinking that 3 or 4 pounds of missing water won't hurt.
And then you get an avalanche of injuries, brain damage and who knows what else.

Personally I'd have weigh-ins 3 hours before the fight, and I'd force every fighter to drink a gallon of water right after. Just to be safe. :icon_lol:

How about a gallon of whole milk!

 

[mxkey]

I would have no problem with same day weigh in. If fighters are stupid enough to enter the ring whilst dehydrated, they'll be found out pretty quickly.

If this is how it would play out that would be cool. The problem that comes to mind is weight classes. You really couldnt expect guys to weigh as certain amount without doing a little cutting.
Ultimately it just seems unrealistic to think its ever gonna go away, although I totally get the health implications. Athletes are always gonna do everything they can to get any advantage. Until some grand solution is conceived I think orgs should emphasize education on the safe ways to do it. Perhaps the ACs could even institute a weight cutting standard that includes a maximum cut amount (body fat percentage lile the fight doc says). Penalize the athletes, coaches and orgs for not complying.

 

[AppliedScience]

You do realize that same day weight-ins just means more cards ruined/cancelled when a big star shows up and can't make weight?

He would not be a "big star" after that.
^Coincidentally that may be what would happen to Jon Jones with same day weigh ins.

 

[h0lydiver]

The reason there's still weight cutting going on is because it's impossible to stop it. Not a big deal anyways

I don't have a problem with it, but there is a way to severely limit it (from a safety aspect, since you claim to be interested): you take measurements from the fighters (water/solids content in urine) the day of the fight. They can cut as much as they want up to the day before at the weigh-in, but if they don't pass the test the day of- they don't fight. This is similar to what they started doing (after some people died) when I wrestled. If you are really interested in safety then this is about the only way to get it. Hell, you can't even prevent people from taking PEDs, though. At any rate, it WOULD NOT be good for business. IE. cancelled fights etc.

 

[h0lydiver]

If this is how it would play out that would be cool. The problem that comes to mind is weight classes. You really couldnt expect guys to weigh as certain amount without doing a little cutting.
Ultimately it just seems unrealistic to think its ever gonna go away, although I totally get the health implications. Athletes are always gonna do everything they can to get any advantage. Until some grand solution is conceived I think orgs should emphasize education on the safe ways to do it. Perhaps the ACs could even institute a weight cutting standard that includes a maximum cut amount (body fat percentage lile the fight doc says). Penalize the athletes, coaches and orgs for not complying.

max weight cutting will not do anything good for the sport since there are too many body types/different physical abilities to take the rigors (and how much muscle they might actually want to cut), etc. It would be like typical lowest common denominator/one-size-fits-all laws/rules. It would limit many fighters from being at a safe weight and fighting.

 

[J10Abu]

Stupid thread. Weight cutting is a part of the sport, there isn't even any major incentive to eliminate it. Better in fight cardio? 99.99% of the heavies don't cut weight and yet have the WORST cardio while the majority of the guys in the lowest weight classes have by far the best cardio even though they pretty much all cut weight.

You do realize that same day weight-ins just means more cards ruined/cancelled when a big star shows up and can't make weight? You DO realize that people will still cut weight leading to worse quality fights, etc? Go on a boxing forum and post this crap, stop acting like MMA is the first combat sport in existence with weight classes and the entire concept of weigh-ins a day before the fight is new to you. Why are MMA fans so damn retarded?

Please stop with the stupid whining about weight cutting. It's like all of you idiots whining about fighter pay. Just watch the damn fights and enjoy it, all of the rest of that crap is just you being little girls and wanting to gossip and turn everything into a soap opera.

I concede to the HW vs lighter weight classes comparison. That's a very good point. I actually don't think fighters would still cut weight though if the weigh ins were changed. If you had no time to rehydrate before a weight cut would you do it? I also think weight cutting is just stupid, I would guess that 90% of UFC fighters are the same size as the guys in their weight class, so everyone's just basically stuck in a loop of cutting weight to no advantage other than fighting guys who would still be your size if there were no weight cuts. I see weight cutting as an unnecessary middle man. Change weigh ins to day of, tweak the weight classes a bit, boom you got a happy fighter.

 

[J10Abu]

If this is how it would play out that would be cool. The problem that comes to mind is weight classes. You really couldnt expect guys to weigh as certain amount without doing a little cutting.
Ultimately it just seems unrealistic to think its ever gonna go away, although I totally get the health implications. Athletes are always gonna do everything they can to get any advantage. Until some grand solution is conceived I think orgs should emphasize education on the safe ways to do it. Perhaps the ACs could even institute a weight cutting standard that includes a maximum cut amount (body fat percentage lile the fight doc says). Penalize the athletes, coaches and orgs for not complying.

That's true, but that's implying you have to weigh in at the exact limit. Also, weight classes would absolutely need to change. But let's say you're 169. You're closest weight classes are 175,165,155. You can: A. Stay in 175 where the heaviest guy is only 6 lbs heavier than you. B. Gain 6 lbs of muscle. C. Lose 4 lbs of fat or muscle if you're super lean. Those seem like good options to me.

 

[J10Abu]

Paragraphs motherf*cker, do you speak it

Haha my bad

 

[MartialPopTarts]

He would not be a "big star" after that.
^Coincidentally that may be what would happen to Jon Jones with same day weigh ins.

Your thirst for Jones to be a failure doesn't seem to be working out very well.

 

[J10Abu]

I think day of weigh ins would be way worse; people would be fighting while dehydrated

The whole point would be to keep fighters from dehydrating in the first place and just step on the scale. Everyone would still basically be fighting the same people just at a higher weight class i.e. Pettis would still be fighting guys like Grant and Melendez.

 

[Otto!]

I think day of weigh ins would be way worse; people would be fighting while dehydrated

Some guys would try it once, gas and lose badly, and if they have a brain they would not cut as much the next time. Eventually it would be a new norm. Those who would keep on cutting weight and losing would only have themselves to blame for fighting dehydrated.