Joe Rogan on the Problems with Weight Cutting in the UFC

Joe Rogan talks to Jeff Novitzky about weight cutting in the UFC.
Taken from JRE MMA Show #8: • Video

[@zedek_]

100% agree with Joe. Gotta get those hydration tests in there. No legal cheating and weight manipulation; fight that your *true* weight.

[@liskadriu7048]

That would be dope. Max Holloway would fight at welterweight and khabib would fight at 185.

[@Richardson_mma]

@Brian Abisdid Max 160 normal ? Khabib 170 normal? You’re crazy hahahah. Khabib and Max are known to cut quite a lot of weight they definitely aren’t that light even during camp

[@XXEXETREMEHEROXX]

@Brian Abisdid khabib fighting at 170 would be so much more interesting, he’s just bigger and stronger than everyone at 155, would love to see how he’d stack up against bigger dudes

[@smashbro5]

@Brian Abisdid But if the argument is to have no weight cutting, then Woodley and Usman wouldn't be welterweights anymore.

[@XXEXETREMEHEROXX]

@Brian Abisdid I agree

[@darrianguffey6879]

Imagine how different the mma world would be if these dudes weren't so scared to fight at their own weight

[@bluceree7312]

They say that Khabib is as strong as a MW or even a LHW when training. He missed weight a few times already. To me if he wants to be a GOAT he needs to be champ at welter or even middle weight. Otherwise he's just a coward and a weigh cheater.

[@javieravalos.10]

@@bluceree7312 don’t see you stepping into the ring with profesional fighters so what does that make you if khabib is a coward

[@dipsetdonkey7757]

Probably not that different since everybody would move up a division or two since everyone is cutting weight

[@darrianguffey6879]

@@dipsetdonkey7757 I'm saying if people all fought at their natural rounded weight. Just about the entire bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight division cuts weight to be there.

[@bluceree7312]

@@javieravalos.10 That makes me a non-pro MMA fighter. It is his chosen profession, and he is cheating. This is the definition of coward - I don't cheat in mine.

[@Josh-ky8ei]

Watching Cris Cyborg crying in agony cutting weight in a 105 degree bath is horrifying

[@1pyroace1]

What brought me here

[@redstaplerguyforlifepastpr5763]

Yeah that thumbnail.. , yikes!

[@darrianguffey6879]

You only thought it was terrible because of how much agony she was in doing that. Most fighters take that level of weight cutting with ease compared to her and I'm not saying it's easy for anybody. Just look at it like tattoos. Cyborg is the person getting a tattoo who shows pain, cries, and takes a lot of breaks for a big piece whereas other fighters are the ones who sit down for the whole tattoo with a straight face and maybe 1 or 2 breaks for a big piece

[@tryhardfinessedyou]

Cyborgs face is an ongoing national tragedy...

[@Yungballmane]

@@tryhardfinessedyou What got her face so messed up?

[@anmoldatta9026]

As Chael & GSP said - Weigh them one hour before the fight. It is a good solution

[@medettleukabiluly6818]

UFC has many fights in single event, people would watch weight ins or watch other fighters fight

[@eliaskhoury768]

You’d run into problems with PPV buys. What if a fighter misses weight and a highly-anticipated title fight is no longer for the belt? People will feel ripped off - and not for no reason.

[@Zelchsomatic]

@@eliaskhoury768 the point is, no one will miss weight. Because no one will fight at a depleted and dehydrated state that they're in when they're on the scale. The weigh in before the fight is the perfect solution.

[@vdiscreet9022]

No because than a fighter would fight extremely dehydrated and possibly die

[@kylergreen1953]

@@Zelchsomatic they will still miss weight, the dehydration will be much worse. In wrestling it is the same way, you weigh in an hour before the match then try to hydrate and eat as much as you can. Weight cutting is simply a necessity for the sport

[@bryanjmm4532]

Look at darren till, he is huge for welterweight. He seems to be one of those people that cuts a ridiculous amount to make that weight class.

[@Hollman36]

Bryan Jmm no shit, Sherlock

[@danawhite9388]

Bryan Jmm do you think of anything yourself or do you just live by whatever joe rogan says?

[@Hollman36]

Messi’s Growth hormones well, what does your mother say?

[@danawhite9388]

Dali Llama mom jokes SMH stay in school kid

[@danawhite9388]

Dali Llama you shouldn’t talk about people’s moms some people’s mom aren’t around anymore

[@Brackus2]

I remember in the 90's, my Highschool was a local wrestling powerhouse with a serious coach. A lot of our athletes continued on with the sport. I lived in the boonies so I was stuck at school for an extra hour at least, every day. I watched these 14-18yr old students jog around the halls/stairs wearing 3-7 extra layers of clothes and sweating their asses off in order to make weigh-in for an upcoming tournament. They also used to get together and have extended sauna sessions, sometimes riding a stationary bike in the sauna itself. They also used tricks like chewing gum or sunflower seeds and spitting to drop extra water weight. I am sure there are other things they did, I just cant recall, or never knew. If these 'kids' at the 'highschool' level (btw, not even in america, where they take sports alot more seriously) were using these tricks in the 90's to cut weight, imagine what a top level ufc athlete, today, does.

[@ramonalzate]

I mean Anthony rumble Johnson has to be the craziest weight cut EVER in mma he LOST ABOUT 40 POUNDS IM NOT JOKING TO FIGHT AT 170 AND HE MISSED THE WEIGHT BY 6 POUNDS

[@mattedmonds6193]

I wrestled in high school and I’ve done all of these things. It’s not healthy at all but it’s the wrestling culture. Nowadays weight cutting is ‘not allowed’ and there are hydration tests at the beginning of each season, but they’re super easy to cheat. All you do is work really hard throughout the week, barely eat or drink, get 5-8 pounds below where you really need to be, then drink a half gallon of water the day of the hydration test so your urine is hydrated. I think the only real solution would be to make the hydration tests random throughout the season

[@1bandzzz]

Yea damn man

[@1bandzzz]

They had to have been mad Dedicated

[@bunnymanmoe8819]

Easier to just control the diet; vegan diet will solve all that.

[@HariZiznewski]

Start showing a fighter's actual fighting weight in their match-up stats.

[@theasianviper6365]

@legend of Awww Sheet ! I doubt the difference would be 35 pounds. I can believe that some fighters go one weightclass lower than the average weightcut so that woulde be about 10-15 pounds but 35 is a lot.

[@johnnymontana8271]

@@theasianviper6365 35 is nothing my guy, rumble Johnson cut from 212 pounds to 170. Darren till 207 to 170. Costa 216 pounds to 185. People cut a lot of weight it’s terrible

[@johnnymontana8271]

@@theasianviper6365 and these are their fight weights. Walk around weight could be 10 pounds heavier even

[@ciaranmills2033]

@Last Chance Porier had stated his walk around weight is about 175-190lbs

[@jorritvanderkooi939]

Ciaran Mills thats out of camp, not in camp big difference with fat % etc

[@BobBob-eg3wu]

Weigh them on the day of the fight as well!

[@Rahul-uk4su]

Yeah it's unfair for fighters fighting at their natural weigt

[@daltonevans3412]

@@Rahul-uk4su what is unfair? I'm not arguing, just curious.

[@vinvuong9728]

Dalton evans for them to cut then immediately try to gain weight and rehydrate

[@shaqspeepee1672]

Lol, yeah let’s just sacrifice performance for and longevity of these fighters for extra day of weight cutting. Cutting weight is hard enough and arguably the most dangerous aspect of the sport.

[@RSFC23]

Trevor Morse you’re an idiot man

[@petergonzalez1719]

I cut 18 pounds in a day and I felt like my stomach was eating itself and like I was going to die. It was just an amateur fight but, I felt like I was going to die in that steam room. I had my fight the next night and I was still exhausted. Lost a split decision.

[@thenotorious8439]

Peter Gonzalez lies

[@LadakhAdventures]

And I'm a UFC fighter. LOL

[@YEDxYED]

The Notorious you don’t see his pfp? He said it was amateur

[@themarco6507]

They should do the weigh in the night of the fight. Same thing for boxing and wrestling. Doing it a week beforehand encourages unhealthy practices AND it means that the weight classes mean nothing when the 147 pound champ is actually 155-160 sometimes.

[@bunnymanmoe8819]

Boxers do weigh in before the fight; hence the reason boxing have tonight weight in the tale of the tape.

[@onbored9627]

How do you account for people who hold more water naturally? There are huge variations. Two people could have the same amount of muscle/fat/bone/skin weight and their water weight could vary drastically. We need a test that can calculate the non-water weight of the person and use that.

[@themarco6507]

@@onbored9627 Fight at another weight class

[@QenaitheCustodianGuard]

@@onbored9627 lol to bad for them, wtf?

[@mileskenney3520]

The current weight in system is the equivalent of a professor keeping a close eye on his students as they walk into class, but then walking out the door the second he hands out the final exam, leading everyone to cheat, because you’d be stupid not to. It’s literally designed to be easily cheated

[@brandonchapman]

Weigh in on fight night problem solved, if you wanna go into a fight dehydrated then it's your funeral

[@yusuf8938]

Your solution is letting the fighters kill themselves instead. nice

[@faimulahsan3413]

@@bluebotlivingston6016 they will do it in order to feed their family.

[@jacoblichti1281]

@@faimulahsan3413 they'll fight worse if they're super dehydrated though, which is something to consider

[@BlackCroLong]

@@yusuf8938 their fault. They could just fight at their natural weight

[@vegetadbza4604]

Defo weigh ins on fight night but also with a hydration test if they fail the test then fight cancelled obviously alot of fighters would probs quit if they did because they no they would get smashed at there natural weight class

[@redstaplerguyforlifepastpr5763]

I'm really! glad Jo mentioned the gap between 185 and 205 , I've been waiting for someone else other than myself to mention that.

[@alexmurray4105]

Yeah a Cruiserweight 195 would be awesome, but I don’t think there are enough top class fighters to be at 185, 195 & 205.

[@bluescripts100]

There needs to be a 160

[@adrianlekay7715]

Three classes

[@BrightBoreen]

Yes only yourself has been talking about that

[@jstuckless]

So tired of this discussion and debate. The solution is so simple if they really want to fix it. Stop weighing in the day before, weigh in the day of, shortly before the fight ('cause obviously if you weigh in in the morning and then fight in the evening people will still cut weight). Have people weigh in at their actual fighting weight like they do in jiu jitsu competitions. (it's probably done in other competitions but I only have experience with it in BJJ) It's absurd that this still goes on to me. I can only assume they like the spectacle and promotion of a weigh in and that's why they still do it, but then just say that's why they do it and stop acting like they really care about the fighters' health.

[@fpstina]

here's an insane idea, weigh the figthers right before they step into the ring... *head explodes*

[@ODDcalls]

fpstina I wish

[@moonkelp9635]

fpstina and if they miss weight?

[@hamhi98]

Moon Kelp they only get paid a quarter of what they are supposed to get paid haha

[@PhoenixBlacke]

Wont work. If they miss then what? A fight u thought you were gonna see is immediately dropped off.

[@moonkelp9635]

phoenix black yea not only but fighters won't have a chance to rehydrate and eat leading to very poor performances

[@toddsteell7209]

I want them to make it like it was in the good old days were a 150 man boy can fight a 400 pound gaint.

[@toddsegel2594]

watch rough n rowdy

[@robloxgod6945]

Rizin

[@SAinTIdiVAca]

Now a days everyones skill set is so close to each other that would be a massacre. We'll never again see a sumo wrestler fight a tiny kick boxer

[@STRmw2]

Weigh them seconds before the fight. It’s stupid to have weight classes but allow people the time after weigh ins to rehydrate where a normal weight can be in the next weight class.

[@Grunt_007]

SKRMZ fighters would just try to fight while dehydrated and die... If you add a hydration test of some sort to that, that could work indeed

[@STRmw2]

^ make it happen dana you egg

[@devinAWOL]

Grunt_007 then they’d died for being stupid and gambled their life for an unfair edge instead of relying on training and skill to win

[@conventionalischeating]

I don't get why they don't that. It's so simple

[@dereksmith4448]

Igor Kneževic because fights would get cancelled. People pay 100 dollars for a pay per view just for one of the fighters to miss weight then everyone’s pissed coming for Dana’s throat demanding their money back

[@lvl3472]

One fighter who suffered the ultimate fate of the dangerous process was 18-year-old Muay Thai fighter, Jessica Lindsay. The Australian tragically lost her life after being rushed to hospital and placed into an induced coma just moments before a weigh-in for a fight in November 2017.

[@JoeMama-vj8es]

Sad sad story.

[@AliothAncalagon]

I think Joe hits the nail on its head. Weight cutting is lying. Period. MMA tries to reflect what actual fighting is about. Yet its idea to prepare for a fight is completely disconnected from any form of real fighting that ever existed.

[@Mutex50]

Yeah, I wish that they'd at least put the real weight they are fighting at on the Tale of the tape.

[@jonathananderson7990]

fr...I'm 5'8 165-170 comfortably and eat what I want, little chubby, but fit enough. I look at my weight class, these guys are 6'2...IDK one guy walking down the street that's 6'2 170. Some of these guys in the UFC are 6'0 at 145 or 155...like in what world buddy... and it defeats the purpose cause their opponent is doing the EXACT same thing. Both dude's in the off season or two months before the fight are two weight classes heavier than what their competing in. Guy can be 155 in weigh in but see him in the street, he's 190 standing at 5'11...all their doing is shredding themselves up by 20 pounds in the last two months and dehydrating themselves by another 15.

[@AliothAncalagon]

@@jonathananderson7990 But thats more or less a general problem of weightclasses you cannot really prevent. One friend of mine is around 6'7" and he was 145lbs back when we were 18. He was of course a weakling, but if he would have gotten into proper training and into competitions, then it would have been an obvious advantage to leave him on the leaner side for the reach advantage. Weight cutting of course makes it worse, but the problem would be there either way.

[@jonathananderson7990]

@@AliothAncalagon yeah there’s always gonna be different body builds for sure but as far as your 6’7 friend. He should be fighting in the 205 division no problem. I mean 145 and 6’7, I’m sure the doctor told him he needs to eat.😂

[@AliothAncalagon]

@@jonathananderson7990 He surely looked like he needed to eat more xD Light heavyweight would probably be the most conservative approach. But hey Kendall Grove made it work for middle weight so that surely is an alternative, too. I personally don't like that its so much of a strategic decision to get into a weight division where you are as tall as possible, but thats the way it is.

[@elroyjohnston6226]

Wheres the hair in this video

[@connorwhitaker8578]

Underrated comment 💀

[@hhhhhhhhhh6675]

on their asses

[@samcooke343]

New weight classes would be great as part of a larger strategy but it can't work by itself. If you added a 165 (super lightweight) division, you'd get fighters currently in 170 cutting an extra 5 pounds to gain that little extra advantage and killing themselves in the process. Same with 195 - fighters at 205 would be cutting an extra 10 pounds. It doesn't solve anything without hydration tests.

[@coreygolphenee9633]

Then you have more weight classes with one belt and you have better 80s boxing, the sizeable jumps in the UFC weight classes are insane not saying you need a 95lb class but 5lb jumps with the giant fighter pool just means more guys have smoother camps

[@Heatwave9000]

No you just change the 170lbs division to 175lbs which is actually what welterweight is according to the unified rules and add a 165lbs class.

[@Sirmaximus62]

I feel they need to get rid of weight cutting pr weigh in the day of the fight. That way if you want to be healthy during the fight you come in shape or just get rid of weight classes and swing it out.

[@robby2867]

a weight class every 10 lbs would be easy you just add a 165 a 195 and change welter weight to 175, then idk maybe change heavy weight to 240 and have a super heavy weight belt with no limit

[@Grunt_007]

robby seems like a pretty easy change indeed.

[@robloxgod6945]

Yes this is a simple easy solution

[@robby2867]

middle weights like Wideman, Romero, and Rockhold have turned 185 into the land of the giants, they'er so big they forced guys like Damian Maia down to 170 I think a 195 would really help with that

[@tumalditamadresita]

to many divisons would water down the sport look at 205 only 2 good fighters now and one is fighting at heavyweight

[@UrbanPhoenix247]

Each division should a selection of weight categories. For example, HWs should have 265, 255, 245, 235. LHWs should then have 225, 215, 205. And also not take a fight under a week's notice. With that, I think it's better for the sake of the fighter's health and having some kind of a fair advantage. I don't personally find it fair or make sense that one guy has to cut weight to match up against a guy who doesn't have to do a lot.

[@harsimranthiara1702]

Very insightful. Cheers for this

[@lildeongbe]

So here is how I look at fighters Flyweight 125lbs weigh in In ring (135-155lbs) Bantamweight 135 lbs In ring (145- 170) Featherweight 145lbs In ring ( 160-190) Lightweight 155lbs In ring (170-200) Ex. Kevin Lee walks around at 190lbs Welterweight 170 lbs In ring( 180-210) Ex. Woodley walks around at 205 pounds Middleweight 185 lbs In ring (200-225) Ex Micheal bisping walk around at 215 Light heavyweight 205 lbs In ring (210-240) Ex. Jon Jones walks around at 230 lbs Heavyweight 265 lbs Ring in (235 lbs-300lbs) Ex. Brock lesnar walks around at 295 lbs

[@7mikepd]

weigh-in 1 hour before the competition.. . fixes everything.

[@atf5275]

what stops them removing a few organs right before the fight then? didnt think of that did ya

[@7mikepd]

@@atf5275 haha nice

[@7mikepd]

@Last Chance What?

[@anthonypayne2526]

Weigh-in has to be moved to really close to fight time WITH hydration tests. Maybe a few hours, and maybe allow someone to lose a couple of pounds at most. And then everyone knows if they have to spend the last few hours before the fight cutting, they're gonna get killed. So, it completely changes the culture and people start fighting at true weights.

[@timt8925]

when Thiago alverez fought gsp mad long ago he looked 200 plus. he was huge but weighed in at 170

[@BroncosDave81]

They could have a first time to make weight 24h-30h before the fight and a second weight in right before the fight with a cap of something like 108% of the weight class. So a fighter in a 170 lbs class could go up to 184(183.6) lbs right before the fight but not more than that. He would have time to adjust his weight between the first weight in and the second one to make sure to be eligible without having a monster difference. That way you reduce the weight cutting and their fighting weight is more similar.

[@Pragmatist1st]

I think 14 lbs is even too much. That's a whole different weight class. 5% max. And the fighters should be no more than 5 or so lbs apart an hour before walking into the ring.

[@davidbahr9068]

That would be the same situation with an additional weight in lol hydration tests is the solution

[@kevpick9956]

I was a wrestler in jr high, high school, and college. You weigh in like 2hrs before you wrestle. i cut 2lbs in 10th grade and did about as good as i was supposed to wrestling seniors and felt ok. My junior year i cut from like 130 to 119 i was thirsty all the time i didn't feel unhealthy or anything but i lost to guys i had a chance with and when i lost i was mad af. My senior year i said f this and wrestled up a weight class to one of the most competitive weight classes. The online community and other folks that followed me said it would be a disaster and i should cut at least 7lbs. I felt great all year i wresled th toughest guys at practice exercises at home in addition to all 3 of the typical practices throughout the day, time that would typically be utilized cutting weight. I won state that year. That same year they did introduce hydration tests where they did math to decide how much weight you were allowed to cut until your next hydration test. This didn't affect me of course but when i came back to coach it was nice cuz NOBODY was killing themselves like i did in highschool to cut. Some people say cutting is part of the sport, it is but not to the extent some are doing it. It drags you down and f's with your head when just having a cocky im gonna beat everyone attitude(especially at practice) can be all you need to be successful. This is what id tell all my wimpy kids i coached. they'd all get clobbered early on but stayed healthy and if they stuck with the team for all 6 years they qualified for state.

[@RUDOseil]

New weight classes: 125 135 145 155 165 - Guys who can't quite make 155 but are too small for 175 e.g Kevin Lee, Cerrone, Khabib (recently), Mike Perry 175 185 195 - Weidman, Rockhold, Romero, Bisping, Sonnen (in the past) 205 206-265 Heavyweight 265+ Super Heavyweight - Struve, Nelson, Lesnar etc

[@cpb1998]

I think there should be a cruiserweight divison 215 to 235ish Then Heavyweights can be 240 plus

[@RUDOseil]

Hmm maybe

[@tumalditamadresita]

this is like cyborg at 145 and deme Johnson Just useless champs useless belts who the fuck are they fighting

[@onepercentersentertainment]

Lol Nelson Super Heavyweight

[@kasen338]

They really do need a 165 weight division for UFC

[@utuberzanz]

Joe Rogan was the highlight of the movie Bright lmfao

[@superiorsportstakes3968]

Also if you wanna end weight cutting just make fight day weigh ins

[@Rob-pq1bk]

I want to fight in MMA so badly but I refuse to put my body through the dehydration. Once people are weighed in the day of the fight, I'm in.

[@thomasmarchese2808]

I’ve never understood cutting weight. Fighters dehydrate, significantly, weight I’m and then rehydrate, and fight hours later. So they aren’t actually the correct weight? Why not weight in immediate before a fight. I’ve always found cutting to be ridiculous. Seems so much more initiative to just fight at your natural weight.

[@louiepeebles9136]

In the ufc there are big gaps between weight classes e.g 205 and 185 a fighter could be at 195

[@creativename6126]

Also cutting weight dosent make any sense, maybe if did in the beginning where it actually gave you some sort of advantage but now everyone does it so you just have 170s fight at 155 while weighing 170

[@williamgraham5675]

15 lbs cut isn’t awful honestly. Now dudes cutting 30-40 lbs is ridiculous

[@stevecole6485]

It’s beyond me why the whole weight in thing is a separate event, and not on fight day. Stepping on the scale should be like checking gloves and mouth piece before stepping in the cage.

[@PokrPro21]

💯

[@ParklandTKD]

I congratulate Joe Rohan on his comments. Absolutely correct.

[@patsysadowski1546]

I’m an ex nurse, not an expert but I can’t think that the hydration, electrolytes and glucose levels are easy to resolve in time for the fight. Meaning they fight impaired. Messing with your kidneys and liver like that seems dangerous while trying to fight. I wonder how many have enlarged organs going into the Octagon and then flying home. A lot of unnecessary risks and each person is so different.

[@Tom-qb1rj]

Weigh in the day before and weigh in just before fight night. Have to be below the required weight in both to be able to fight

[@jessepinkmeng1556]

7:40 I learned this the hard way xD. Signed up for a kickboxing tourney to fight at 155 2 weeks before it ran, weighed 176 at the time. Dropped down to 155.5 for the tourney but only had 4 hours to rehydrate and get some carbs in me. Those 4 hours I only filled my tank maybe 20%? Watching the footage back was cringey I looked like I was moving in slow mo

[@F76CC]

I never cut weight. I weighed 150 and fought at 152. After the 2nd round my speed and cardio advantage really kicked in

[@Nerofive4]

Warning, the following is just me spit-ballin': Why not base weight on muscle mass and bone, and give an allowance for fat. If the fighter has to lose muscle to make a weight then they should not be in a weight class. Also I dont know how water weigh ins work, but it would be nice if weigh ins could simply ignore water weight. And give a small allowance for fat (say 3% buffer), have official weigh ins occur in tanks. I dont see why water weight should be a consideration, there should be no reason to dehydrate a fighter, in fact for truly entertaining fights you want to ensure all fighters are constantly hydrated. Have fighters certified for a specific weight class, and they need to maintain a range at least a month in advance. Slightly being overweight could simply be a point deduction, as long as it is not a trend for the fighter, but doing so several times could be a mandatory bump up. They could even transfer some of the purse from the overweight fighter to the other for taking the fight. As well as give the on weight fighter the fight automatically in the event of a draw. On a slight tangent, I think it would be interesting to have fighters who test positive for steroids be allowed to fight, but the stipulation would be they need to make their weight class, but fight a weight class up. But once you get to the heavyweights, I have no idea what you do there, other then pit positive testers against each other. (have a clean and dirty division). But I assume the problem would be with licencing and insurance for the fights, since drugging is illegal. Maybe just have all the fights in Mexico. (Of course I dont know if steroids are actually legal there, or if they are banned, but the ban is rarely enforced.)

[@onmymind5132]

Interesting topic. More videos need done

[@shawntaylor8780]

Do it just like D1 wrestling duals and have a 1 hour weigh in. Fighters can't suck big weight & still perform at the level required.

[@thespecialsound]

Just beginning setting a 5% tolerance between weight in and fight night

[@Geordiejamie84]

surely if took weight cutting out the sport it would level itself out anyway instead cutting to 145 you would fight at 155-170 but would be same for everyone so you would in most cases fight same guys there will be exceptions to the rule but surely it's worth doing for everyone's longevity and health

[@opposablethumbnail6531]

I think a good way to eliminate weight cutting would be to make the fighters weigh in twice a week four weeks prior to the fight. You could give them a slight window of a few pounds that they have to be within, but if they miss weight once within that four week period then they have officially missed weight for the fight.

[@switch4evr1]

opposable thumbnail don’t know the ins and out and if it’s only done within certain states but I’m pretty sure they already have something like this in place. I think it’s you have to be within a certain weight a few weeks before, not sure of the specifics thought. Also believe it may be you’re allowed to be a certain percentage overweigjt

[@SlavomirG]

Why there can't be a weigh-in in the ring/octagon directly before the fight? If a fighter is over the limit, the fight is cancelled and he/she has to pay a huge fine. Simple.

[@opposablethumbnail6531]

Slavomir G I've thought of that, but that would really piss a lot of people off. Imagine if you just paid a lot of money to go see a fight and then it gets canceled right on the spot. If it was the main even there would be riots. Having a days notice, the ufc at least has time to find a quick replacement or allow the fight to continue with some kind of a compromise between the two fighters.

[@switch4evr1]

Slavomir G from both a business and health perspective there’s just to many issues that it would cause, you could have several fights on a card cancelled 30 seconds before they’re supposed to fight.

[@SlavomirG]

so the whole problem comes from money, from the business side of things. basically the sport is too lucrative to have harsh rules in effect and keep the game clean.

[@claypage1089]

Weight them ringside as they enter. (Gloves, tape shoes, etc weighed beforehand.)

[@Meta.Empress]

I think the UFC adopted weight classes to legitimize the sport for marketing purposes, but as a fan, I prefer if the athletes are at their best

[@Themayseffect]

have to disagree about weight cutting not being a factor in discipline. Cutting weight and making that regulated weight takes huge amounts of discipline. One of the reason why i can't hate Conor all that much for destroying the 145ib division. That was probably one of the most pure forms of discipline in his entire arsenal.

[@360blur9]

Anyone else realize how he was basically going “ya I agree that would be good, buut we’ll trust what we are doing right now” like dude why not do both

[@gnihtemos]

Some of these weight cuts are ridiculous. When I wrestled, my walk around weight was pretty close to my fight weight. Same thing when I boxed. It appeared to me that most of the other guys also didn't try and fight in a weight class that was 20 or even 30 lbs lower than their actual weight. These mma fighters have doctors guide them through dehydration and such, then rehydrate, and many of them can sometimes be as much as 20 lbs heavier, during the actual bout, than at the weigh-in. It' bullshit. No wonder some don't 'make weight'. The class they're fighting in isn't even close enough to reach with the help of highly specialized doctors and trainers. And these are guys who, by and large, stay in fairly good shape even when they're not anticipating a fight. - If you walk around, relatively fit, at 180 lbs then you should be trying to 'Trick' the scales, and fight at 155. I say "fight at your realistic weight" not some smoke and mirror weight...

[@BizzyIzzy87]

yes please to the 10% rule. Don't let fighters weigh in more than 10% extra than their weight class a few hours before the fight. Then keep getting stricter and stricter as time goes by.

[@vegetadbza4604]

It's a simple change to stop it do the weight in at the fight its a shame because even that won't work because all you will have is dehydrated fighters trying to fight in the ring 💪

[@DramStihe]

I had no idea it worked like this

[@Enthos2]

Why don't they just move weigh ins to like 15 minutes before the fight? Wouldn't that solve the whole issue?

[@Kungfukenny187]

My first and only fight so far I was fighting at 148 and the Sunday of week of the fight. I was around 155 but after the water load I was 170 I made weight. But them epsom salt baths are no joke. I got out of the tub I felt like I had the spins from being drunk and my heart felt like it was beating out of it chest. But once I rehydrated I felt like a million bucks. The day of the fight I weighed 160. But at the start of the eight week camp I was 185

[@thedondaithi1304]

The cushion on the headphones on Jeff novitsky's head makes me feel uncomfortable hahaha

[@Sol-mz3jz]

The Don Daithi Should have waited to the end to read this.

[@thedondaithi1304]

Sol 1 hahaha can't hear anything can only see his baldness haha

[@ricksgiggle8852]

It looks comfortable to me. His bald head looks smooth and that cushion must feel soft and silky.Lol

[@CorbCorbin]

The Don Daithi Holy shit! I missed the first few minutes the same way. 😂

[@CorbCorbin]

The Don Daithi Its special for those with over 60% of head above the eyes.

[@toolizcool]

Must be nice to be a heavyweight. Most guys in that weight class don't cut since 205-265 is such a wide range.

[@alanreyes8370]

But they are at a disadvantage (miocic 240, ngannou 265)

[@blakespooner1219]

@@alanreyes8370 can't be a disadvantage if Stipe won. I do see your point tho. Stipe is just so skilled, Ngannou is unlucky he got the greatest heavyweight champion in the history of UFC

[@TheSlicker83]

if both fighter cut weight then they'll be around the same weight when they fight....it would be great if they could weight fighters just before they walk out to know what they actually weigh.

[@HonestWatchReviewsHWR]

You just need to make it so that fighters have to meet a certain hydration level, otherwise they can't fight in that weight class. In general, men should have a total body water percentage between 50 and 65 percent, while the ideal range for women is between 45 and 60 percent.

[@ryvaleska]

No1VIPER That is legit the best Idea, I've heard about that subject. Wow, is there any reason no one came up with it before ?

[@Matt_Mosley1983]

Fighters should just fight at ther walk around weight. Adding 15lbs of fluids after the weigh-in is nothing but cheating. #ConorMcNugget

[@brycegreenstein7441]

The Performance Institute and its tests are not a panacea. Weight cutting/dehydration are so dangerous.

[@Bxzzxd]

Just have them weigh in on the day. Ppl wouldn’t miss weight. Wrestlers almost never miss weight.

[@redstaplerguyforlifepastpr5763]

Yeah early in the morning would work

[@MrJoe6165]

What if we weighed them every week for a month before the fight and on the day of. Then calculate the avg and bam thats your weight for the fight

[@adamant4107]

I can see the fighting institute being a staple of the UFC within a year or two. It makes sense for new fighters who don't have a lot of money to spend time there. Some can't, they have kids and such but.... it's at least one option. Really great idea. Glad they made it.

[@nan5715]

Safe and fair for the fighters. Why isn't this done yesterday?

[@scottmartin7042]

Theres an easy fix to the dangerous weight cut problem and im probably gonna get shit for this but.. Weigh them right before the fight. Have it so the fighters are fighting at the actual weight of their class. I mean the way it is now a middleweight fight, which for the UFC is 185 i think, on the night of the fight it isnt even 2 middleweights fighting. Its really 2 light heavys fighting. Dont get me wrong, ive gone thru weight cuts and i know its literally torture so i salute these guys and gals putting themselves thru it but its dangerous as hell. I cut from 175 down to 154 for a fight once. That was my worst weight cut and even though on fight night i was more like 168 but i was so drained and fatigued it was almost went against the entire point of the cut. I'd rather have fought at 160 and felt good and lose the few pound weight advantage tbh.

[@juanmanu9652]

They should have fighters fight within plus 10 pounds of the weight category. Someone is gonna die through weight cutting and then they will change the rules, but why wait until someone dies before changing rules?

[@KingGosh]

I think they should have a two miss rule: You miss weight twice, you fight in the next weight class above. You miss weight a third time, than you get suspended for 9 months to a year. You miss it a forth time you get automatically cut.

[@mileskenney3520]

I feel like the obvious answer is to weigh them right before the fight, or at the very least, on the same day. That literally solves every single one of these problems with absolutely no down sides at all whatsoever, plus it’s SO obvious. Why in the fuck is this not done? Am I missing something?

[@dylangreen7994]

If izzy can stay at 186 lbs and beat Jon for the LHW title like he says hes going to do.. I see more people following suit... if he gets flatlined then were back to square one. Hydration testing is the best we got right now for keeping it safe. Weighing the fighters same day will cause insane cancellations and changes. Also people won't stay in a class, they'll keep bouncing around. I feel on your fight license you should register at a weight class and for 365 days that stays.

[@rgonzalo511]

But weighing them the day before isn't insane and risky? Just weight them the day of the fight. Finally put a stop to all this cheating of the system. Why even have weight classes if at the day of the fight you got a featherweight going up against a welter or even a middleweight? smh You just punish the fighters who do things right.

[@dylangreen7994]

@@rgonzalo511 whoa lol. I agree with you, as an ex fighter that did amateur and pro muay thai. I know what it's like to fight guys in your true weight class (day of) and cutting weight for main cards later... the issue is, people are still gonna do .... I'm not saying my opinion I'm just saying how the fight game is... unless you've been in it you dont realize how little the fighters say actually matter. All about the might dollar once you get big

[@Pragmatist1st]

I think fighters should fight close to their natural weight. Fighters should weigh no more than 5 lbs the night of their fights than they did the day before on the weight cut, but also have a rule that fighters can be no more than maybe 5 lbs apart an hour before the fight starts..... I remember watching an Arturo Gatti fight in which he weighed 20lbs more (per the commentator) the night of his fight than he did the night before's weight cut. He was noticeably bigger than the guy he literally almost slaughtered. I never could cut that much weight when I wrestled in high school. 5lbs was the most I could manage. I just didn't carry the weight wherein I could cut it like that.

[@random_eskimo_in_the_rockies]

Another thing: Many fighters are correct: They need another class. 155-Lightweight, 165-Welterweight, 175-Middleweight, 190-Cruiserweight, 205-Light Heavy

[@user-ou4jg5hn9v]

No they don’t that’s too many classes. They need to do what one did. Bantam weight 145 and feather weight is 155

[@garyallwood3451]

Weight cutting only gives you an advantage if the other guys doesnt. Now everyone does it. So now its a case of who is willing to cut the most, means they will be slightly bigger when they rehydrate, but are weak as a kitten.

[@surfingbilly9654]

5 years later and still nothing has been done about this issue by the UFC

[@animenest217]

Isnt Just wheighing fighter each day for 5 days in fight week a good idea cause no one can walk around dehydrated like that for 5 days

[@palmerrich8584]

They should implement lenght classes cause a 6'4 guy has no business fighting a man that's 5"8 but the same weight

[@BlackCroLong]

Weight in halt an hour before the fight! No more light heavyweights having to fight heavywrights!

[@j_the_don5160]

Weighing in on fight night probably won’t solve the problem. People could still cheat with an IV and the possibility of death is soo much greater. Some guys just want to win and logic comes second to that so if they need to cut the weight and fight dehydrated, they will

[@mrknuckles5269]

Guys should not be afraid to fight somebody their own size

[@bigamuskymodesto]

i think they should be able to cut some weight ,but 15 or 20 pounds is ridiculous .If you wanna fight little guys you need to be little not just thirsty.

[@lmt2543]

The classes should be different. 145-160-175-190-205-220+ for heavyweight

[@mjohnson6703]

Weigh in right before the fight

[@leshreddur]

the real problem is, it takes weeks to get rehydrated properly...

[@ianchairul486]

when there was no weight cut because you added hydration test, we will never see a fighter fight in multiple classes.

[@williamgraham5675]

Not true. There are ways to control your muscle loss and gains.

[@ianchairul486]

@@williamgraham5675 yes but it took times to gain or lose 15 pounds of muscle and get used with that weight, you could gain 15 pounds of muscle in normal fight camp time, but to be able to moves like it was your natural wight, it takes more time

[@thegoodsgone1965]

Disturbing. This is the dark, ugly side of being a UFC fighter.

[@random_eskimo_in_the_rockies]

I'd rather see fighters fight at or close to their natural weight. Right now guys who walk around over 200 pounds fight t 170 or even 155. That's crazy. A fighter shouldn't be allowed to cut more than about 5% of their normal weight. Change the weight classes.

[@NegativeGamer418]

Amen Joe Rogan

[@terr0rsandwich]

Who is here after Julija Stoliarenko fainted?

[@chrism8311]

They should weigh in before entering the cage to show the disadvantage one of the fighters is facing. Someone goes down to 145, against an actual 145er, you know there's going to be a huge gap in weight

[@RockomusiK]

Ego won't let this happen because nobody wants to be told what to do. And i'm sure the UFC will be like we are the gold standard we set the standard they wont want to copy other organizations.

[@superiorsportstakes3968]

I didn’t realize wonderboy shaved his head

[@Masa6x]

Omg I can't unsee this

[@tmoo1791]

Not enough we need to do more...

[@ed.garr1112]

Well bad thing that in wrestling you dehydrate yourself and fight at that same time so is it still cheating?

[@onbored9627]

I do see the problem with removing weight cutting, as a person who carries a ton of water naturally. I can drop 30 lbs of water in a couple days just by cutting carbs down. I think the idea of weight cutting is to get down to the muscle/bone/flesh of the person to find the weight of those things. Otherwise you can have a person who holds more water naturally, that will be fighting much bigger and stronger people who hold very little water naturally. I was unable to find a test that measures someones lean muscle/fat/bone without measuring their water weight. If there was some kind of hydrostatic equivalent test for finding % weight that is water, that'd be amazing for the fighters.

[@joosberg6563]

I’m doing a science project on this for school, does anyone have any argument that it should be allowed and kept?

[@emmanuelnazginov6999]

-A fighter has the right to choose what weight they want to compete at ( they know the risks involved) - This is a practice that has existed in many sports for a long time - The dangers of weight cutting could be reduced with proper planning and nutrition during a fight camp and proper rehydration techniques after weigh ins

[@hamhi98]

The Roe Joegan Spexerience

[@iamajediirl6444]

Turns out it's easy to cheat the hydration test

[@andrew-rn9ui]

Pro Fighters out here cutting weight and I'm out here dreaming of a David vs Goliath fight , me vs Jon Jones , we weigh whatever we weigh and giver for 5 rounds,, It's my dream to beat that man one day