Why Fighters Cut So Much Weight (and Why It's A HUGE Problem)

[@Idranim]

Connor at 145 looked like a skeleton I’m honestly not surprised he did everything in his power to not defend that belt

[@отпирайте]

He didn't defend his 155 belt either, he just doesn't want to defend.

[@Caden32105]

​@отпирайте yeah Conor doesn't really seem to have a real champion mindset he just wants to conquer and get all the accolades

[@Complexityspaz]

@@Caden32105his entire goal was to get in get rich then get out their are serious long term effects of combat sports.

[@jooyichen]

What I respect about Conor is his consistency in his dreams. He also became a simultaneous 2 div world champ in his previous promotion before joining the UFC. And he explicitly say that he wanted to replicate his success in Cage Warriors, and so he did.

[@San-oe1xv]

It's not like he went down a weight class, it was his weight class at the time. He just didn't want to

[@andrewcruz1931]

I always felt the same . What’s the point if none of the fights aren’t happening at the weight they’re supposed to ? If they hit 155 at the weigh in, they should have to hit 155 on fight night right before they get in the octagon.

[@javerious24]

@just so dawg the point is he wants people to just be fighting closer to their normal weights

[@ki6108]

​@@javerious24 make them weight at 155 the night before the fight and do a weight in a moment before the fight with tolerance about 5 (more or less )pound, that way at least fighter won't have too much stress maintaining that 155 pound throughout the day, they can eat, hydrate etc as long as they don't go over that tolerance

[@ki6108]

​@just so ​ make them weight at 155 the night before the fight and do a weight in a moment before the fight with tolerance about 5 (more or less )pound, that way at least fighter won't have too much stress maintaining that 155 pound throughout the day, they can eat, hydrate etc as long as they don't go over that tolerance

[@yourlandladysson6395]

Exactly. The concept is just stupid. The day of weigh in should be the day of fight night too

[@jakesmall8875]

@just so no it’s not unreasonable Everyone should just fight at their normal weight and not cut anything The cut is unhealthy Khabib almost died

[@hypnotwist_]

TJ you should watch MMA on Points interview with a doctor where he explains and demonstrates how the Hydration testing doesn't actually work in stopping weight cutting. Step in the right direction for sure though.

[@mstr293]

I think they should add "Height gap limits" in order to more accurately prevent weight cutters. Weight classes are separated like 10lbs each division, It'll take only 2-3 Inches of a person's natural height based on the "height and weight chart" in order to be considered 1 division higher since a person who's an inch taller than you weighs 3-5lbs more on average.

[@TheLeadHook]

TJ is a bit out of touch regarding MMA tbh

[@bigtonytwoshoes8184]

That video was really eye opening to the whole solution. I think the Dr who works with the fighters at ONE said it best. “People thinks is a simple problem with a simple fix, but it is drastically complicated when you get to solutions” hope to see more innovations come that limit aggressive cuts and disincentivizes cheating

[@OmnipotentSpud]

Dude, that video was absolutely eye opening.

[@cristo6007]

​@@TheLeadHook not really TJ claimed that the reason he got hired as the CEO of EPO is because he became anemic trying to cut down a weight class

[@zaidkidwai7831]

Sanctioned cheating is a perfect way to describe it

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

Sanctioned cheating. In the entire history of combat sport, sanctioned combat sport either amateur or professional, give one example of a fighter who didn't manipulate his weight before the night of the fight. 😂

[@clint6716]

​@@SPIDERM0OSEthat's a big whoosh captain, just because everyone is doing it doesn't mean it isn't cheating. Have you seen Icarus?

[@aggroelohim3537]

It's not cheating if it's not against the rules lol that is the most retarded way of describing it little joey was just salty his boy gynosanya got shat on

[@aggroelohim3537]

​@@clint6716it's not cheating because it's not against the rules

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

@@clint6716 Im not interested in yer pantomimes or girlish soap operas Im talking only about combat sport & their rules. In the entire history of combat sport, each n every serious competitor has manipulated their weight before the fight & they have done so because not only is it within the rules & therefore it is "RIGHT", it is also a NATURAL effect of fight preparation.

[@juniorzz5055]

Perfect time was about to eat

[@momelendez9691]

Same

[@Yokewl]

Same!!!!!

[@paullaserbeam]

Literally just grabbed my lunch at work

[@thagumaster1]

Watching this In a ramen place 😅

[@JayTheBeast27]

Same 😂

[@T0X1CSPIKES]

It's sad because this extreme behavior trickles all the way down to literal children. I wrestled in Middle School/High School and I saw kids as young as 14 cutting 10-15 pounds to make weight. Obviously this involved a lot of dehydration, laxatives, and starvation. One of my teammates was so drained and pale before a weigh in that teachers wanted to send him home since his cheeks were sunken in and he could barely stay awake in class. People of all ages/levels should be able to partake in combat sports without needing to kill themselves to do so. I really hope hydration tests become the standard everywhere.

[@soonahero]

They need to abolish weight classes altogether

[@tylermoran8635]

@@soonahero well that would just be stupid

[@ronmka8931]

@@tylermoran8635 atleast for kids lmao

[@sugoi9680]

@@ronmka8931 Same thing. Weight classes are not the issue. That's like saying school shootings happen let's abolish school.

[@LJC-d8k]

@@soonahero yeah let a 50kg fighter and a 70kg fighter fight... what a bad idea that is

[@DeadricSummoner]

It’s pretty dangerous to cut more than 15bs (depending on body fat). The more I see this becoming an issue the more recent fighter protests about having a 160-5lb weight class makes sense. GSP used to cut from 190lbs while he was a welterweight, but today it’s not uncommon for lightweights to cut from that range along with welterweights cutting from 220lbs. Even with Paddy the baddy cutting 60lbs to fight. It’s time to force fighters to fight in their proper weightclass

[@thememeconnoisseur4088]

Citations for WW's that have cut that much weight?

[@RaoulDukeIII]

@@thememeconnoisseur4088 khamzat would weigh north of 200 in between fights

[@thememeconnoisseur4088]

@@RaoulDukeIII Khamzat is big, but he's never even started a cut for 170 above 195, and definitely hasn't had 1 from 220

[@marcz239]

It doesn't matter they do the shit by choice it's obviously easy to lose the weight for people with will power

[@DeadricSummoner]

@@marcz239 If you gotta go through as much self inflicted physical trauma as most of these guys do you have no reason to cut that much. I remember back in high school I was cutting 15lbs weekly to make weight and it was easy since all I had to do was run. If you gotta run in the sauna you shouldn’t be cutting weight.

[@thegoat5587]

Weight cut is more dangerous than the fight itself. What's worse is weight cut makes you more vulnerable during the bout.

[@VTdarkangel]

How you solve the weigh cutting problem is have weigh-ins on the same day of the fight, preferably within a couple of hours of the fight. At that point, the time to rehydrate following cutting for weigh-in would be too short and create a performance concern for the fighters. This would encourage fighting at a more natural weight.

[@ronmka8931]

2 issues with that. First is if a fighter misses weight the entire fight is cancelled right before the match (pissing off alot of fans). Second is what if someones natural weight is 160 lbs he is forced to fight 170 lbs or cut weight. A better option is hydration testing which forces those big guys who are too big for a weight class to go up

[@ArchyBeatz]

@@ronmka8931 Rehydration clauses, can't rehydrate more than 10lbs after weigh ins. Honestly if someone was 160 it wouldn't be that hard for them to make 155. 5 lbs in a day is rough but is possible. Anything more than 5lb in a day is destructive. People who drop more than 10lbs in a day are insane.

[@kja6336]

@@ronmka8931make it so that if you miss weight you automatically lose fight pay and have to fight otherwise your contract ends and the UFC dumps you.

[@ronmka8931]

@@kja6336 bro that sort of happens, if you miss weight your opponent has the choice of fighting you at a weight disadvantage and you get a pay reduction. forcing people to fight is a bit unethical btw.

[@kja6336]

@@ronmka8931 they arent forcing them to fight, its an ultimatum. Its also unethical to allow a fighter an advantage over another by them not following the rules while the other does. This would just be a more convincing way of almost forcing them to not miss weight, while also making it so when they do the Fans wont miss out on a fight. Its not gonna happen since the fighters will never be forced to transition divisions but its still an idea

[@jldriver02]

Imagine being a 170 pounder ur whole career and they bring in weigh ins on the day and u gotta fight an unranked ngannou😂

[@HipBlackPoodle]

I'm writing a college research paper on how weight cuts physically affect a fighter and all the health risks and this video is insanepy useful. I obviously has to find your sources on my own but I appreciate you compiling and simplifying them.

[@Godly_Nose]

this is why heavyweight is my favorite division and its the hardest, everyone is a monster aint no weight bullies there.

[@Joker-qh7fq]

I think they are making the cut to ? Am i wrong ?

[@smackdoe3626]

99% of UFC fighters cut weight and on fight night they are almost always similar in size. Like you covered in your video, cutting a large amount of weight is more of a disadvantage than anything. Justin Gaethje said he doesn't cut weight because the only year he was an All-American in NCAA wrestling was the year he didn't cut any weight. That's shown when fighters move up a weight class and immediately start doing alot better. Dustin Poirier, Conor Mcgregor, Henry Cejudo, Kelvin Gastelum and Robert Wittaker among others.

[@Vitamin_jp]

I think there are more examples of people cutting a lot of weight and being dominant than there are people going up in weight and dominating

[@Vitamin_jp]

I also think that lots of people going up in weight do it as they’re entering their fighting prime, just because fight prime and becoming a larger human coincide timing wise

[@vingadivo8707]

It's the type of thing that depends a lot on the fighter, Mcgregor was special as a featherweight BECAUSE of weight cutting, allowing him to be taller, wth much greater reach and incredible knock out power for the division, meanwhile at lightWeight, he's average sized, and while still hard hitting his power isn't that much special compared to othe fighters like Gaethje or Chandler. On the other hand you haev fighters like Dustin, who became MUCH better after moving up from not having to be depleted from the weight cut. Point is, whether or not extreme weight cutting will benefit you has a lot to do with your bodytype, style and competition.

[@smackdoe3626]

@@vingadivo8707 off topic but idk why people say Gaethje has incredible knockout power. He hits hard but nothing that separates him from everyone else. He usually breaks guys down over time.

[@jchapman1605]

Some people tolerate cutting more than others

[@Joshua-uw7wm]

That's my favorite thing about Floyd Mayweather. He purposely stays in fight shape and at his weight at all times. He doesn't need to get in shape for a fight he is always in the perfect condition for professional combat. That's soo BADASS especially when you realize how rare that is

[@hemmydall]

Just bring back weight ins "on the day" of the match, and if you fail weight then there are options; 1) still fight, but you lose a percent of your pay (the greater the difference, the greater the pay cut with a ) 2) you get disqualified and lose the match I think its way past time to end the cutting practice. Especially given that prep time for matches are much longer then they use to be. There is no excuse to not be able to show up for a given weight on the day of the fight. Nice to hear about the walk around weight tests. That could easily be added on top of what I mentioned.

[@CEOofEPO]

Pretty sure that would cause more deaths

[@Kevin-be9iy]

they aren’t done on fight nights because potential cancellation would cause extreme money loss for the event, they want the event confirmed quickly as possible but realistically they know weight cutting would just cause so many events to be cancelled last minute holding big fights on the prayer both fighters make weight on the DAY of the fight is way too risky for companies and everything that went towards it

[@itsmesteve1081]

The problem with option 1 is that you will have 185 lbs fighters coming in to kill 155lbs fighters and all they get is a slap on the wrist. Option 2 makes much more sense. Obviously if somebody doesn't make weight then there should always be stand in fighters ready to be a substitute

[@gregbocaccio]

@@itsmesteve1081 naah, the margin has to be way smaller, like if u weight max 10 lbs over u can still fight (with the paycut), if u are over the 10 lbs margin u will get sanctioned and u wont be able tu fight. At one point fighters will adjust to the new rules.

[@hemmydall]

@@itsmesteve1081 what gregorio said. If a huge payday was on the table and a fighter did that and lost half or more of their pay, I think a lot of fighters would start to follow the rules more. I like the sanction idea too for a repeat offender. Substitutes would be more common if more fighters fought at a "day to day" weight instead of cutting down.

[@cornball0072]

Frankie Edgar is what a Lightweight SHOULD look like

[@Bren10thousand]

The weigh in should be immediately after the ring walk that will fix this shit real quick

[@woahblackbettybamalam]

What of they miss weight? Or turn up dehydrated. They could die

[@Bren10thousand]

@@woahblackbettybamalam major fines for a missing weight, and if you can't get there in good health, you don't fight at that weight. It's not complicated.

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

@@Bren10thousand If its not complicated, & its as simple as you are on yer best day, why has nobody thought of it before now ? 😏

[@Bren10thousand]

@@SPIDERM0OSE so many goddamn morons in this comment section it's actually shocking

[@jean-pierre9698]

​@@SPIDERM0OSE because this would fuck up the whole divisions lol... you really thought you were smart huh

[@KayoKidBoxing]

Hydration tests are good, but multiple weigh ins are a double edged sword as it usually ends up with fighters doing several weight cuts in camp as opposed to just the one in fight week.

[@GoriIIaTactics]

Then let them do it and kill their bodies. After one or two years, the problem will solve itself

[@LeviVanSluijs]

The hydration test at oneFC are very ease to manipulate so they don’t really work how they are supposed to

[@louthawriter]

This reason alone is why Izzy's run was so legendary, he fights at his natural weight.

[@lucaspuhala7302]

Izzy fought at 205 too dummy

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

His natural weight. What exactly is that when its at home ? He trains his body year round so that he can fight at a professional level, therefore his is manipulating his bodyweight 52 weeks per year, so what exactly is his "natural weight" He weighed in to fight Blackowich at just over 200lbs, that means he cuts around 15lbs to fight at 185. So what exactly is his "natural bodyweight"? #NAZIKids

[@louthawriter]

@@SPIDERM0OSE natural weight would be the weight that requires the least amount of cutting.. he didn't have to cut for the Jan fight, and still couldn't make it to 205 which means he's not big enough for the light HW division.. Walking around in shape year round and cutting ridiculous amounts of weight are 2 different things. Did you even watch the video? 🤔

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

@@louthawriter He weighed in at over 200lbs He is a 200 lb man on fight night not a 185 lb man. So what is his "Natural weight " ? Training for a fight manipulates his bodyweight also, whats his "Natural Weight " without training, training that causes him to sweat, sweating & eliminating body fluid = weight cutting ? Define "In Shape" for the purposes of this video & does cutting weight on the week of the fight legally & morally take you out of shape ? Its absolute IDIOCY & an invasion of privacy. Mind yer own business... SNOWFLAKES !

[@louthawriter]

@@SPIDERM0OSE Cutting 15 pounds is regular af. People do that every summer for looks 🤣 again, did you watch the video? Fighters are risking their lives to make these ridiculous cuts. You're a clown 🤡

[@froulouxio]

bruh i'm such a casual, i thought all fighters just fight at the weight they weigh at weigh ins😂

[@cornball0072]

It’s normal to assume that especially as a newer fan of combat sports. A lot of people who aren’t fans don’t know about the dehydration to meet weight. My friends assumed a “weight cut” was just fighters on diets to lose weight like eating less calories and more Protein when in reality (they do that during the camp) but then they’ll just drain their bodies like a raisin. When I didn’t know about this I was surprised to see how big the lightweights looked because that’s how much I weight and I don’t look anywhere near as big as guys like Khabib, Michael Chandler, Dustin. I think Frankie Edgar is a good example of what a lightweight should look like.

[@updownleftright9258]

I'm happy to hear that more people are starting to talk about this.

[@xNighttx]

Even as an amateur boxer those close to me have mentioned my eating habits have become much like an ED and it is something that really needs to be talked about

[@dirtydirtyshisno7284]

Be careful man, dangerous path to go down, you probably want to look for ways to repair your relationship with food, the impacts aren’t just physical, it fucks with your head a lot

[@smackheadsgyro]

Weight cutting started with American wrestling. For some reason, the wikipedia article doesnt touch on this, or any of the deaths that resulted from it.

[@jesuspernia8031]

I fought at Golden Gloves this March at my walking around weight (165). I’m 5’9 so I went up against bigger guys. I honestly find this weight cutting and re-hydration shit fucking stupid. I was able to make it to the semi-finals and only lost to another guy who was the same size as me (also had my name which was weird how similar we were). I was still comfortable with the bigger guys.

[@uzs1333]

Cap and never happened + nobody cares + your name is embarrassing

[@F-Tier_Physique]

Congrats that's very impressive, but anectodes doesn't cancel the fact that size is an extreme advantage in combat.

[@jesuspernia8031]

@John murphy Fax

[@LeSunshineee]

​@johnmurphy-hi7zkFax

[@therainman7777]

Yeah congrats, that is indeed impressive. But I echo the other commenter; just because you personally were able to hang doesn’t mean all or even most fighters would be able to hang with people weighing 20-30 lbs heavier than them.

[@RobertoOjedaTello]

A perfect example of crazy (and tbh relying on) quick weight cut would be Gilberto Ramirez as he just came in over weight and rehydrated ALOT in the Dmitry Bivol fight.

[@cluke7278]

Hydration tests, even though they seem like the needed solution, are actually pretty easy to cheat and can even lead to the fighter/athlete being more dehydrated than with normal weight-cutting (usually using distilled water). MMA On Point has two videos on this topic, in which they go in-depth on the specifics of hydration testing, and even have a scientist cut weight and trick a hydration test himself.

[@brownshirt990]

i’m def dealing with that after wrestling thank u for putting something into words i’ve been feeling for 3 years

[@NETTAHER28]

Hydration tests can be beaten. Mma on point has done a great study/video on it

[@William-Morey-Baker]

couldnt agree more... we need same day weigh ins and hydration testing.

[@appledough3843]

Why don’t they give every weight class a rehydration clause? So if you’re at 155 the max you can rehydrate to is 165. That way people in 155 are gonna now be natural 155ers. We’d also need more weight classes to make it easier for more fighters to make weight. So classes like 165 and 175 would be needed.

[@lcjester16]

Suppose it creates random superstars that Dana can't steer really well, like if Khabib is a weight bull then he obviously has a clear disadvantage but if there's a clause that limits the amount you bulk back up then it does create more sporadic runs

[@ForevermoreFilmsUSA]

The only solution that comes to mind is doing what NCAA wrestling does - 1 hour weigh ins. This has worked for decades in high school and college wrestling.

[@drewe51]

People still cut, but you can't cut 30 lbs an hour before a fight.

[@PariahKamikaze]

@@drewe51 exactly. evens up the playing field a lot more.

[@drewe51]

@@PariahKamikaze yeah, I agree. I used to wrestle. Everyone cut, but if you were cutting a lot you probably weren't going to win the tournament.

[@shahtayyib]

A weigh-in on the day of the fight wouldn't be too bad of a start.

[@seepons]

Max Kellerman actually proposed solution to this problem. Weigh in should be on fight night that will force the fighters to fight near or on their natural weight.

[@BottleDeopt]

As soon as the IV ban was applied, Conor McGregor immediately said nope and moved up to 155 from 145, effectively vacating the belt. If a fighter needs the use of IV in order to rehydrate him/herself in a weight cutting scenario, the fighter is probably cutting more lbs of water than the body might be able to comfortably handle. An extreme case of this would (not be Islam Makhachev) but Alex Pereira who cuts down to 185 but can balloon up to 219 for some reason. It's not even a cheating issue but more towards "you cut too much weight and you might get hit with cardiac arrest or a blockage due to blood getting too thick" issue. It's all fun and games until someone passes away though because as soon as someone receives the short end of the stick during weight cutting prep there's going to be major changes to rules regarding that popping up. If anyone here remembers Duk Koo Kim's death in the aftermath of the fight with Ray Mancini, it shortened the number of championship rounds from 15 to 12, and the duration of this change is permanent.

[@SuperTommox]

I also think weight cutting fundamentally changes the sport. Fighters who are better at dehydrateting themselves will have an advantage over those who can't. That has nothing to do with the sport tho. The one with the better fighting skill should win.😊

[@columodonnell9202]

You basically described Dagestanis lol, the masters of weight cutting

[@erichong4786]

I don't think the most skilled 4 year old in the world is defeating an average adult. Weight matters and there are inherent advantages beyond what skill can provide.

[@quinndelcarmen1384]

@@columodonnell9202 lol weight cut cheating started in US boxing and wrestling so USA athletes are more masters at it, and in using drugs too.

[@EliasRoy]

@@columodonnell9202 😂😂

[@tontonthefatcat8760]

This isn't 4 year old verses adults. It's highly skilled adults fighting with 20 to 30 weight advantage. ​@@erichong4786

[@lewisclarke2840]

Great video. I think weight cutting in boxing definitely offers a bigger advantage than weight cutting in MMA though. You lose a lot of strength, but you don't really need to be physically strong to box for 12 rounds, you just need to be conditioned and have the cardio. By contrast, in MMA, if you wanna dehydrate yourself then cool, but if your opponent wants to wrestle with you, you're going to tire very quickly.

[@american1207]

I really don't get how Chandler even makes 155. Dude cuts roughly 30, 35lbs. But if you call Khabib a weight bully then you have to call every champ a weight bully. Sterling walks around at 170, Volk 170, Charles 180, Usman and Leon 190, Periera 215

[@somaliking4207]

Volk was around 160 fight night when he fights att feather weight

[@kingt0295]

@@somaliking4207 yeah he only bulked up to 165 for Mackechev he’s always in peak fight shape so doesn’t get a little heavier like these lightweights that say they’re 190 pounds walking around but in camp they’re mid 170s ish you have to remember he’s 5’6 if he’s stretched in the morning lol he’s not a big dude but he’s physically built and lean which makes him look like he weighs more

[@Karim94222]

Boxing has it too but it seems mich more extreme in mma. I guess its an even bigger advantage in ground fighting

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

Yep. The more extreme weight cutting in MMA comes directly out of the culture of wrestling.

[@Stick_Chronic]

Because boxing has way more weight divisions

[@rexmemo974]

The one championship regulations have been proven to either be more dangerous or just as dangerous as weight cutting as shown in the MMAonPoint videos.

[@wolfies4011]

Adding a 65 and 75 pound divisions will do wonders for guys like dustin and khamzat

[@t6p598]

To solve the problem they need to do the weight in at the same day as fight night or do a limit on how much you can weight in fight night

[@lostnemesis]

MMA on point talk about these one championship hydration test and how easy it is to fool they literally had a guy who helps people fool the test do it himself and it worked like a charm.

[@mariocardenas1833]

Everyone knows khamzat missed weight on purpose so that we could finally get the nate vs tony fight. It was a carefully crafted plan to make sure nate's stock would be as high as humanly possible as a free agent. Dana set up the fight with khamzat to try and reduce nate's value and khamzat took one for the team to make sure that didn't happen

[@account-pb2df]

Unfortunately saying everyone knows, doesn't actually make it true 😂. This is a really delusional take

[@Angelo-vk8wp]

Delusional

[@NeCoruption]

Stop acting like khamzat didnt fuck up bro

[@UnsealedComic6]

I don’t think khamzat is the type of person to “take one for the team”

[@jerryd2351]

he did say he was told to stop cutting weight by a “doctor”… maybe it wasn’t khamzat maybe it was dana’s plan the whole time (Tony was going to to fight a welterweight for some reason)

[@ekayn1606]

I never cut more than 5 pounds for a match, so everyone I've fought has been bigger than me. There's a huge disadvantage when it comes to reach. But they don't have as good of gas tanks or the ability to eat a shot as good. You'll have to get a feel for their timing to slip a shot and explode into the pocket to work the body. A clean shot to the Liver, Kidney, or Diaphragm will effect on their footwork and speed if not outright drop them then and there.

[@jamalliwalug6639]

10lbs rehydration clause should be mandatory in every UFC fight

[@ND-OPS]

“What is weight cutting?” -Manny Pacquaio

[@unkonwn5390]

Manny pacquaio missed weight before tho and he got kod because of how he was driving himself into severe dehydrstion to make the 112lb limit

[@ND-OPS]

@@unkonwn5390 what KO u talkin about?

[@gettingoverit3080]

Got exposed for being a casual

[@TheHeisenBuldge]

​@@gettingoverit3080he didn't get exposed at all, do your research bozo

[@TheHeisenBuldge]

He missed weight because he was actually UNDER

[@bengough6772]

People throw a lot of hate at Khabib but they're all doing it. It's one of the only ways to actually win at the highest level

[@victorgl9709]

Put some respect on Duran, he never used weight in his advantage. As a matter of fact Duran spent a lot of his career fighting bigger men at 140, 147, and 160.

[@dirtbag3736]

He cut 35 pounds in 3 months before the Leonard rematch.

[@deanberrios3322]

At the end of this video; The simple answer is money, but the longer answer is that hydration tests & walking weigh ins don’t work even in ONE FC, there’s a great video somewhere on Yt explaining why in depth

[@WelshWanderer08]

Highly recommend watching MMA on Points video regarding hydration tests and how easy it is to deceive them, while still remaining dangerously dehydrated.

[@Blank-41]

I just seen your video from 8 months ago and checked your vids to see if you uploaded this yet and it was posted 8h ago. Perfect timing especially when I just come across your videos 15m ago lol

[@thirtythree504]

One was using their hydration test to help certain fighter get an advantage

[@thatonepiecekid8056]

This is one of the reasons I love Colby Covington, while everyone in the game cuts weight, he’s the dark horse and only had to cut 8-10 pounds over his training camp, and he’s still the best welterweight on the planet

[@damage968]

I have an amateur bout next saturday and the wheigh ins are just couple of hours before the fight. I'm 1.5kg from the limit and tbh even just 1.5kg scares me because in my last fight I felt super depleted due to a bad/stupid cut

[@chanafool]

Tj have you seen the mma on point video about how onefc hydration system is actually worse than the normal weighin system. They have a doctor actually testing the results on himself and it’s quite wild the results.

[@VeryEvilGM]

I can buy them a scale they can use if they're not willing to use their money for people's safety and fair play.

[@ramirosuarez4141]

Great video, just one question. Why do you put Duran as an example when you were saying weightcuts were there for a long time. I know some fighters of the past like Dela Hoya did it, but I don't think Duran did that too. In the 70s when he was a lightweight he was a pretty skinny guy and he didn't even reach the 135 limit all the time, sometimes he just weighed 133.

[@dannygrizz4358]

while i can’t speak for TJ, its most likely because of the infamous “No Mas” fight that Duran had against Leonard. He cut around 50 lbs in a single month which left him way too drained and had his resign from the fight mid round.

[@spenserfarthing3898]

@@dannygrizz4358 yeah After his win against Leonard he partied for almost a month straight Not a great idea, but oh well He had a whole career before that anyways

[@mstr293]

Looked it up, if we go to the "height-to-weight size ratios" technically both Duran AND Dela Hoya are still considered within the healthy weight range in their respective weight division. It's just that they're on the lower spectrum of said weight ranges. I suggest increasing the weight gap between divisions, like from 10lbs to 20lbs or more? Considering the normal "healthy" weight range of a person of the same height before they become underweight/overweight is about 25-50lbs. The higher the gap the taller you are. Also, perhaps a "height gap/limit" should also be put into account since the average weight difference between a person taller than you by one inch is like 3-5lbs. So, a 5'6" Lightweight boxer should not fight anyone above 5'9".

[@sebastiaankrul2403]

For the no mas fight he dropped 50 pounds in a month......

[@ramirosuarez4141]

@@dannygrizz4358 oh yeah I remember that, yes he cut a lot of weight, but he didn't do that because he was naturally heavier than 147, he was just fat at that time, they gave him the fight and he had to cut it all in short notice

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

There are a couple of videos on MMA On Point that show ONE Championship's hydration tests don't work as intended.

[@Chevaux804]

Great job. Very informative video. I learned a lot.

[@Burkery373]

couldn’t you also have fighters to have weigh ins literally as they’re walking out or like 10mjns before to force fighters to not cut weight

[@jamesanderson6856]

The ED is so true even at amateur level

[@columodonnell9202]

Fighters should be weighed on fight night and have a limit that they cannot be heavier than the weighclass above (for mma) so 155ers cannot weigh more than 170 on fight night, 170ers cant weigh more than 185 etc etc.

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

So instead of dehydrating before the weigh in they should dehydrate before the fight itself. I think you must be some kinda genius. Or perhaps you are from the future n have been sent back here to enlighten us ?

[@epicadventureturtle1363]

Banning iv bags was already a big step. Connor weighing in at 145 in full skeleton mode, then hooking up to 100 iv bags and showing up like a tank on fight night was the dumbest thing ever.

[@ZTM432]

Firm believer in weigh ins being conducted just prior to the fight. Reason number one to make a level playing field for all potential competitors , and reason two to preserve the long term health of the competitors.

[@icantthinkofacoolname1308]

Dana/UFC isn't to blame for fighters killing themselves If a fighter is having trouble making weight, that's a sign they should change If you want to fight at a certain weight, it's your job to make it

[@Noobie2k7]

I've been saying this for a while but a bigger problem is the lack of weight classes between 155 and 185. The fsct there's only 170 inbetween is horrible for guys competing as they'll either need to cut a whole lot of weight or be undersized for a division. There needs to be 165 and 175 divisions.

[@OVO-Adolf]

That will make the titles less valuable like boxing

[@TeacherDoug7]

There needs to be an evaluation that tests fighter's ability to function at a certain weight. For instance, you could have a weightlifting test, like: You must drink 16oz of water and electrolytes, then immediately weigh yourself UNDER the fighting weight, then immediately do one thousand 35lb kettlebell swings within 30 minutes, taking more water breaks if necessary. If you don't have the energy to complete the challenge under 30 minutes, then you are too weak at that weight and need to try again at a higher weight. If you pass, you must have your fight within a month of passing the test. Of course there will still be a weigh in right before the fight as well. There is only so much muscle you can gain in 30 days, and Roy Jones taught us that playing games with losing muscle mass destroys you as a fighter, so I don't think anyone will want to try losing and regaining actual muscle in a short time.

[@meekcreator1899]

Increase the weight classes 5-10 lbs. Except heavyweight

[@LeelosAdventure]

Best example of a weight bully I’ve ever seen is khamzat. Guarantee he would be 230 if he just ate normally and did not train for 2 weeks

[@mas72450]

What fighters "walk around at" is not the same as what they weigh at the end of training camp and are optimally peaked to fight before they start the actual weight cut. Playing semi-pro basketball back in the day I could weigh 230+ during the offseason but comfortably 210-215 during the season in game shape. And I can imagine with fighters it can be even more dramatic when it's just 6-12 weeks of training like a madman just to be at maximum peak performance for one night instead of trying to maintain a plateau for a season without going so hard you risk injury. That being said, until fighters have to be on weight when they enter the cage, weight cutting will always be a thing. Promoters won't do that though because they are afraid fighters will miss weight at the cage and the show is ruined. It's gonna take a big name promotion to take the risk to do that (and add more weight classes) otherwise fighters will always game the system and people will always whine about it to discredit fighters they don't like so whining about it here is pointless. The players won't change unless the game does so until then you make weight, that's your weight class and anyone calling a fighter "a natural welterweight" or whatever the division is just butthurt and coping from seeing the fighter they identify more with losing a surrogate alpha-male contest, especially if it's a fighter they don't like or who identifies with a group they don't like winning that alpha-male contest. Also, please watch MMA On Point's video on how OneFC's hydration tests are laughably simple to beat. Weigh in at the cage, or we're all just pontificating for nothing

[@josephtrujillo9307]

start doing year round weigh ins Get red of of the lower weight classes Start doing the hydration tests Add a higher weight class to stop 220 guys from fighting at 185

[@tamirkhusheev4240]

the hydration test is ONE FC pretty much useless. There have been a nice breakdown of how to beat the test, done by Oliver Barley, who is the one of ONE FC doctors

[@Wildcat__]

I think there should be a scale the fighters get on before they enter the octagon on fight night. And if they come in overweight, they get docked pay / penalized.

[@Absurd000]

This is why I really like One FC. They have much better weight cutting rules

[@EUGENKECK]

Why isn't the whey in right before the start of the fight? Wouldn't that dissolve the problem? Or am I just dumb and missing something? It can't be that easy, right?

[@Supersaiyansuwi]

It's fascinating that what ever I think about just manifests right in front of me

[@joaoalves9330]

I know this might be a dumb question but why don’t they just weigh in right before the fight? Like they do the weigh ins then immediately go to the ring. I think this would solve a lot of problems since they’d fight at the weight they weighed in

[@blecicstefan]

Why not just move weight-ins from night before to an hour before the fight

[@D1amond145]

Weight cutting is a part of the sport that will never change, ONEs hydration testing is just another test that every fight manipulate... all you need to do is look at their fighters and all of them fight at the same weight classes that they already fighting at before so every single one of them cut weight. This will never change because people especially athletes dont have a set "walk around weight" the weight fluctuate based on many factors including the shape that youre in so you will never ever have this fantasy of a combat sport without weight cutting... the problem is overblown

[@giannidomenico]

Cutting weight is absolutely the worst part about combat sports I’ve competed numerous times and it’s torturous , and having stay relatively close to that weight year round is also annoying because If want put on weight in muscle I have to do it ever so slowly

[@Chumeche]

I remember finding out about weight cutting early 2021 when I really took MMA serious and I was relieved a bit cus I was always wondering how I weighed the same as Micheal Chandler

[@niscent_]

what's worse is when we think of how even in amateur competition weight cutting is a thing. back in high school, in my judo gym i would often see at least one guy training in a heavy hoodie to sweat his extra weight. i remember i had always been light for my size and i was weighting 75kg while the weight category right below in judo was 73kg. weight ins where mostly done on the same day, often about 4h before the competition, so i would just time well my meal cycles and take a shit right before weight ins, then eat and rehydrate. every other person in my weight class, i was towering over, and could easily pressure kids who were more experienced than me just because i was much bigger.

[@justinflowers7480]

Should have mentioned how easy it is to cheat hydration tests. MMA on point made a good video about it

[@Amri2004]

cant they do another weigh in right before they enter the ring or the octagon

[@Kangaroo175]

I remember skipping lunch once, it was brutal

[@r3l0ud56]

In Judo we have a random weight in at the day of competition. We can't go past 5% of the limit weight

[@T.N211]

Weighing should be done a minute before they enter the ring … that’s fair …

[@hulkman245]

Weight bullying is the dumbest thing I ever heard and i hated it the first time i heard it. It's used by clueless fans(mostly when shit talking about Khabib) who have no idea how many of their favorite fighters also walk around at high weights(compared to the weight class they fight at) At least 5 out of the top 6 guys at lightweight walk around at 185+

[@ozymandias3097]

I don’t know much about fighting, but would it be better if instead of categorizing fighters by weight we matched them by height? I feel like most people who are the same height are going to have similar ranges of body composition

[@leonconnelly5303]

The problem with that is you would you just fighters getting as big as possible

[@diddy_dante]

I really really hope One blows up in popularity in the west and that they become profitable. Because currently they are burning through so much money funded to them by VC firms. If they succeed and manage to become profitable, then perhaps other fighting leagues might follow their example.

[@abovegabe]

What editing software do you use if I may ask? Great video by the way.

[@EonTheAien]

Fantastic video

[@veziAk47]

Well this explains why Paddy is totally a pathetic fighter who gets hit a lot even by fighters who aren't even ranked like Jared Gordan

[@Sh4dyClass1c]

Cutting weight #1 aspect destroying cage fight competition today

[@Washekk2712]

Alex Pereira somehow makes 185 and walks around 220

[@daddyethan]

You mean 238

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

Isnt it amazing what self discipline, diet & exercise can do ? You should try it some time, Princess. 😈

[@tiredox3788]

Dude bigger than some of the LHW fighters.

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

@@tiredox3788 Name one.

[@tiredox3788]

@@SPIDERM0OSE Glover and Dominick

[@EtherealistEquinox]

Khabib retired because he would never make 155 anymore and WW division would smash him

[@ArchyBeatz]

Mandatory rehydration clauses where you can't rehydrate more than 10lbs would clean a lot of this up. IBF has this rule for all their championship fights.

[@appleboss9742]

The perfect way in my opinion is to do what most high-school wrestlers do. Just have them fight on the day of weigh ins

[@shane7051]

0:38 "walked around at 100 to 185 pounds" Dude...

[@tjlovesfights]

Dude… am I an idiot? I meant 180-185

[@shane7051]

@@tjlovesfights lol we knew what you meant. It happens