See that man up there in the featured image? That’s Conor McGregor. It’d be hard to tell beyond the tattoo reading “McGregor” which makes sure we all know that the gaunt, dry-lipped, and possibly friggin dying human is indeed Mystic Mac. UFC 194 was the last time he ever made 145 pounds in the division he ruled — featherweight — and it’s likely he’ll never head back down. Why? Because dehydrating and starving yourself to the brink of oblivion is a dangerous proposition, but fighters keep doing it. Now, the California State Athletic Commission is looking to do something about the strategy.
MMA Fighting got their hands on the CSAC’s Advisory Committee on Medical and Safety Standards meeting agenda in which the Commission looks to further the progression of MMA and Boxing into a safer, more transparent, and overall better sport. One of their main points of the meeting is the “Discussion and Update on Licensing Application and Physical as it Relates to Dehydration and Appropriate Weight Class,” which can be boiled down to curbing extreme weight cutting.
The commission will vote on the following plan on May 16th (taken from the commission meeting materials):
1. Licensing by Weight Class – Requesting the athlete select the lowest weight class they intend to compete at. Following up with a series of questions related to dehydration and weight cutting will allow the Commission to better approve matches and track critical weight information. The Physical Examination associated with the Commission’s licensing application requires that the licensing physician certify that the requested weight class is safe for the athlete. (Authority-Rule 210, 280, 282, 298) – Please See attached the Draft Application for Professional Athlete and Professional Athlete Physical Examination.
2. Changes to the bout agreement to obtain parity with boxing – Draft and approve a contract that fines the contestant that fails to make the contract weight 20% of his compensation equally distributed to the Commission and the opponent, as well as 20% of all bonuses (including win bonuses) to the opponent. This will force fighters to compete at weights closer to their natural walking weight. It will also reward fighters who take a fight against a larger opponent and lose. (Authority-Rule 220) – Please see Attached Draft Bout Contract
3. Additional weight classes. 165, 175, 195, 225 with the removal of 170. This places each weight class below 205 at 10 pound increments. Along with licensing by weight class and ringside physician certification, the new weight classes· are essential so that each individual athlete has more options to choose a class that is suitable for them. (Authority-Association of Boxing Commissions) – Please see attached letter from the ABC Rules Committee and letter to the ABC Medical Committee
4. Implement policy changes to the way matches are approved with an emphasis on appropriate weight class. A formal request has been made to the Official Database of the ABC to add a weight class category as a required field and also a listing by the matchmaker of the weight the fighter was when the bout was offered. – Please see attached letter to the Official MMA Record Keeper of the ABC
5. Weight Class restrictions for fighters who miss weight more than once. A fighter who misses weight more than once will be required to compete in a higher weight class until a physician certifies the weight is appropriate and is approved by the Commission for competition in the weight class. (Authority-Rule 282, 283, Rule 298) – Discussion item, can be done by the physician at weigh in or post bout on the suspension form.
6. Continue early weigh-ins to allow maximum time for rehydration and mental preparation for the combat sports competition. (Authority Rule 297) – Discussion Item
7. A second weight check the day of the event to ensure fighters have not gained more than 8% of their body weight back in the 30 hours between the official weigh in and the event. Fighters who gain so much weight between weigh in and the fight may still be allowed to compete but may be required to move to the next weight class for future bouts. (Authority Rule 285) – Discussion item.
8. Checks for Dehydration by specific gravity and/or physical by Ringside Physicians at both the official weigh in and the second day weight check. (Authority Rule 281, Rule 299)
9. Implement a 30-day and 10-day weight check for advertised high-level title fights. The WBC has success with this approach in boxing, and it provides for safe benchmarks. While this “weight check” could be manipulated because a Commission inspector is not always available to supervise this, we can do it by Skype or other electronic means. While not perfect, this is simply a way for the Commission physicians to keep track of the fighter’s progress to the intended weight class. (Authority Rule 285)
10. Matchmaker and Promoter Examination and Education regarding weight cutting and dehydration as it relates to offering and contracting of bouts.
These are all steps forward for the sport, but the one issue could be point 9, in which the CSAC suggests WBC’s approach for multiple weigh-ins as another way to keep fighters safe and the fight itself fair from a weight standpoint — this rule was just broached by Daniel Jacobs, who elected not to weigh-in on fight day to rehydrate to at least ten pounds heavier than title holder Gennady Golovkin so he could have an advantage that evening. Since he decided not to weigh in, he forfeited his chance at the title, but was stronger for it.
This would affect business in a big way. Why book and market a title fight if there is a precedent for the fighter to throw that out the window in an effort to win?
There are a lot of questions still surrounding these potential changes, so let’s leave on a high (pun not intended) note and go to Joe Rogan, who had one of the best anti-weight cutting rants in history a few years ago when he was interviewed by SB Nation:
So for a guy like me to say that I think weight cutting is just cheating that everybody agrees to, I understand that it’s a very controversial thing for me to say, and I understand that a lot of people are going to get angry at it. But I really think that it’s something that we should look at, and we should look at it, and we should look at it from that perspective. I walk around and I weigh about 195 pounds. If I told someone that I really weigh 170 pounds, and they’re like, ‘Good, I weigh 170 pounds too, I’ll meet you here at this time and let’s grapple or fight or whatever.’ If I really do weigh 195 pounds, I’m going to have a 25-pound weight advantage over that person. So if I trick them into thinking that I weigh 170, and starve and dehydrate myself to prove it, and then when we actually meet I’m healthy and back up to 195 pounds, isn’t that cheating? Isn’t that lying? That’s what people are doing.
Weight cutting is dangerous, there’s a reason they weigh in the day before the fight; it gives them a chance to rehydrate. It’s crazy. Let’s call it what it is. It’s kind of cheating, but it’s cheating that everybody does. You’re allowing someone to pretend they’re 155 pounds. Motherf*cker, you’re not 155 pounds! You look at Gleison Tibau and it’s like, ‘Dude, you are not a 155-pound fighter. You’re just not. I understand that you can get onto that scale and it can show 155 pounds, but that is for the briefest window possible.’ As soon as guys get off the scale, they suck on Pedialyte, they drink coconut water and do whatever they can to get fluids back into their system, and they’re f*cking dying.
That pretty much sums it up. It’s better for the health of the fighters. And, if you want to move beyond that, it’s what’s good for business. In the last two months, we’ve already seen multiple main card UFC fights fall through at the last minute — Ian McCall was pulled from his fight at UFC 208 the Friday before the fight, and Khabib Nurmagomedov was hospitalized during his weight cut before his interim title fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 209.
These changes, especially the new weight classes, could make the young sport far better.
